Urdu ad in Karnataka: BJP says ‘anti-Kannada,’ Congress hits back
Bengaluru: The ruling Congress and the opposition BJP on Wednesday engaged in a war of words over an Urdu advertisement published in an Urdu daily regarding a Health Department programme. The Karnataka government today launched the “Kusuma Sanjeevini” programme of “prophylactic treatment” for haemophilia patients and free ambulance services. Advertisements for the event were published in various publications, including some Urdu dailies published from Karnataka. The advertisements in Urdu dailies were in the Urdu language, which has become a bone of contention. The BJP accused the Congress government of neglecting Kannada and indulging in appeasement politics by allegedly issuing an official invitation in Urdu, while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao hit back, stating that it was only a newspaper advertisement meant to reach Urdu readers. “For the sake of appeasement politics, the anti-Kannada, anti-State Congress government is even neglecting Kann...