Bengaluru (The Hawk): Karnataka is becoming increasingly agitated about the Staff Selection Committee's decision to allow candidates to take tests for various positions in the federal government only in Hindi and English.
Kannada organisations and the opposition Congress have criticised the SSC's decision to prohibit applicants from the state from taking tests in Kannada.
Exams are being administered by the SSC for the recruitment of 24,369 positions for the Border Security Force (BSF), Government Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP), and Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB), among other central agencies.
The recruitment process will include computer-based tests, physical fitness testing, and medical exams. The computer test will only be administered in English and Hindi.
Those who have completed Class 10 are eligible to take the examinations. The exams will be held in Belagavi, Bengaluru, Kalaburagi, Mangaluru, Hubballi, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Udupi.
The deadline for candidates to submit their applications is November 30. The examinations are set for January 2023.
Kannada Sahitya Parishat, the organisation responsible for promoting the Kannada language, is preparing a legal challenge to the SSC's notification.
The former chief minister of Karnataka, H.D. Kumaraswamy, urged the federal government to rescind the announcement that was detrimental to the state's citizens. He had pushed the federal government to allow regional language examinations.
Kumaraswamy had threatened that if the announcement was not rescinded, he would protest and demonstrate the strength of the Kannada people.
The President of the Karnataka Congress, D.K. Shivakumar, criticised the Centre for their prejudice towards regional languages. What actions should candidates for regional languages take? The Hindi language is given preference over the Kannada language, he stated.
He criticised the ruling BJP in Karnataka for its silence on the matter. agitation will be initiated if the state administration fails to resolve this problem with their counterparts in New Delhi. "This is a Kannadiga warning," he said.
As the Assembly elections in Karnataka draw near, the opposition parties are expected to use this issue to criticise the BJP. The ruling BJP in the state is unable to defend the SSC's decision, leaving them in a difficult situation.
(Inputs from Agencies)