Even as former Chief Minister V Sadananda Gowda sought to assure critics of the textbook revision that the Karnataka Government will consider valid objections and take necessary corrective measures, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha lashed out at writers who have kicked up a row over the revision of school textbooks.
Mr Simha told reporters in Mysuru that opposition to the textbook revision is coming from litterateurs who were beholden to the Congress party.
He claimed that Baragur Ramachandrappa had not come up with any literary work worth remembering in the last 20 years while the youth were done with reading the works of Devanur Mahadeva.
He described writer G Ramakrishna as a ‘born Communist’ who need not be taken seriously as a ‘litterateur’ while accusing him of ‘wrongly’ portraying freedom-fighter and martyr Bhagat Singh as a communist in his works.
The works of a few others, who had sought withdrawal of their lessons from the textbooks, had already been dropped. “We have dropped their works as they were past their expiry date,” the Mysuru MP said.
With regard to the resignation of Ham Pa Nagarajaiah from Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Pratishtana, a trust established by the State Government, Mr Simha asked why his wife Kamala Ham Pa Na, who is also a member of the Pratishtana, is continuing in the post.
He said people opposing the revision of textbooks, who failed to respond to the challenge thrown by Education Minister B.C. Nagesh for an open debate on the issue, were raking up an old issue of the Text Book Revision Committee Chairperson Rohit Chakrathirtha’s forwarded message, alleging disrespect to Kuvempu.
Former Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is already in touch with different sections of society and expressed confidence that necessary corrective steps will be taken if any valid flaws were pointed out in the revision exercise. “We have no ego problem,” he said.
With regards to complaints of disrespect to Kuvempu, Mr Gowda pointed out that the BJP had granted State anthem status to the song composed by Kuvempu. Also, the present textbook revision committee had increased the total number of Kuvempu’s works from eight to 10 in textbooks prescribed for students from classes 1 to 10.
