Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Nov 2: "Let us browbeat demand for splitting Karnataka, and overlook malicious propaganda. I call upon the people of Karnataka to shun regional divides like north, south, coast etc and join hands like the children of a single mother for the overall progress of our motherland," said Karnataka chief minister (CM), H D Kumaraswamy, in his Kannada Rajyotsava message delivered at the state level 63rd Kannada Rajyotsava programme held here on Thursday November 1.

He noted that Karnataka came into being as a result of fight undertaken to integrate areas having Kannada as mother tongue which were shared between different states. "We should never pay heed to voices of dissent which seek to break our motherland. Our aim is to maintain our sate as a peace-filled garden where people from all classes and sects coexist harmoniously," he added.

At the same time, he justified the government's decision to teach English to children right from the first standard. He added that the government has taken the initiative to set up three skill-based universities.

He called upon teachers of all the government schools to make wholehearted efforts to emulate Marikamba government school at Sirsi which has withstood competition of private schools and increased its student strength to record level. He said that the government is committed to extend all help to popularize government schools.