textbook controversy
The Karnataka unit of the Congress staged a protest in front of a Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at the Secretariat in Bengaluru on June 9 urging the State Government to withdraw the revised school textbooks.
KPCC president D K Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah, Leader of the Opposition in the Council B K Hariprasad, party legislators and supporters participated in the protest.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the revised textbooks have hurt the sentiments of a few communities. He accused the textbook committee, headed by Rohit Chakrathirtha, of ‘insulting’ several Kannada poets by wrongly interpreting facts.
Protest in Shivamogga
Shivamogga district unit of the Congress staged a protest on June 9 demanding the arrest of Rohith Chakrathirtha, who headed the textbook review committee.
The protesters, led by District Congress Committee president H.S. Sundaresh, gathered at Mahaveera Circle and burnt photos of Rohith Chakrathirtha. They accused Mr. Chakrathirtha of insulting social reformers, including Narayana Guru, Purandaradas, Kanakadas and architect of the Indian Constitution Dr.B.R. Ambedkar, among others, on the pretext of reviewing textbooks. They accused him of distorting the State anthem penned by Kuvempu.
Member of Shivamogga City Corporation Yamuna Range Gowda, and other leaders of the party, including Rekha Ranganath and Y.H. Nagaraj, want the State Government to arrest Mr. Chakrathirtha immediately and take action against him.
