Kuvempu row: Writers, leaders, seers mount pressure on Bommai to oust Rohith Chakrathirtha

BENGALURU: Pressure  has started mounting on Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to remove Rohith Chakrathirtha from the post of chairman of Karnataka Textbooks Revision Committee, over his remarks about the state anthem.

Close on the heels of Adichunchanagiri Mutt head Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swami writing to Bommai, urging action against those who distorted Naadageethe (state anthem) written by ‘Rashtrakavi’ Kuvempu -- ‘Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate Jayahe Karnataka Maate...” -- literary figures have started resigning from government posts. Nadoja Hampa Nagarajaiah on Monday resigned as chairman of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Pratishtana, Kuppalli.

“Kuvempu brought glory to Kannada and Karnataka by getting the first Jnanpith award. The government set up the Pratishtana in his name, beside conferring the Karnataka Ratna on him. But the government has given a responsible post to a person who had insulted Kuvempu and the respectful community he hailed from, instead of taking action,” he mentioned in the letter.

He felt the government being a mute spectator was a dangerous development, and sent a wrong message that those who badmouth the state anthem get opportunities as members of government committees. “The hope that the government will not tolerate attacks on personalities went in vain, and it is difficult for me to keep silent over insults to Kuvempu and Naadageethe,” he elaborated, appealing to the chief minister to accept his resignation. 

‘Stir on streets if govt fails to sack Rohith’

Meanwhile, Rashtrakavi Dr G S Shivarudrappa Prathishtana president Prof S G Siddaramaiah and its members Dr S N Raghavendra Rao, Dr Chandrashekhar Nangali and Dr Nataraj Boodal have also resigned. They wrote a letter to Bommai citing the reason as “unconstitutional oppression in the educational, cultural and political sphere in Karnataka”. The government has not been acting against elements attacking the democratic and federal system, and spreading hatred, he remarked.

Religious heads and leaders of the Vokkaliga community also expressed anguish over Chakrathirtha’s comments across Old Mysuru region, with organisations staging protests for his removal. KPCC president D K Shivakumar on Monday urged the government to dismantle the textbooks revision committee, as its chairman has no respect for the state flag, state anthem and Kuvempu. “The old version of textbooks should be continued,” he said.