New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the Karnataka government of Muslim appeasement after the ruling Congress mandated that candidates applying for Anganwadi teacher positions in Mudigere and Chikkamagaluru districts must be proficient in Urdu.
The Karnataka govt said that the decision aims at catering to regions where the minority population exceeds 25%.
However, the emphasis on Urdu is being seen as sidelining Kannada-speaking candidates.
The directive from the Department of Women and Child Welfare specifies that applicants for these roles must know Urdu alongside Kannada, reflecting the demographic composition of these districts.
According to recent data, Muslims in Mudigere constitute about 31.94% of the population.
The BJP leaders argued that this mandate imposes an "outsider language" in a region where the local language is Kannada.
They termed this decision as a strategy to further Muslim appeasement and alienate other linguistic communities in Karnataka.
In a post on X, the BJP said, "The Karnataka government is imposing Urdu in Kannada-speaking regions. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar must explain why Urdu is being prioritised over Kannada, the state's official language."
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