RAICHUR: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday gave a clarion call to the people of Karnataka to make Kannada their 'business language'.
Speaking at an event to celebrate 50 years of naming the erstwhile Mysore state as Karnataka, the CM appealed to people to make Karnataka a Kannada state.
"All the people living here are Kannadigas. No matter what your home language is, the ‘business language’ should be Kannada. Kannada should be the main and first language in the state," he said.
"Learn every language, but Kannada should be the official language in the state," he added.
Dwelling on the Gokak agitation, which was related to granting Kannada the first language status in the state, the chief minister said the 'Kannada Kavalu Samiti' was formed to create an atmosphere for Kannada to prosper in Karnataka. Later, the committee became the Kannada Development Authority, he explained.
Siddaramaiah asked people to respect all languages, learn as many languages as possible but never be generous to give up Kannada, the language of this land.
On the occasion, the chief minister felicitated senior Kannada activists and leaders of the Gokak agitation.