Kasargod MP P Karunakaran, who demanded the inclusion of Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution during the ongoing Parliament session on Wednesday, was hailed as a hero on social media.
Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje came under sharp criticism for remaining silent in the Parliament and not raising any demands favouring the inclusion of Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Starting the debate, Karunakaran said, “Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in the Southwest region of Karnataka and also in the Kasargod district of Kerala. The Tulu-speaking region is often referred as Tulu Nadu. The native speakers of Tulu are also called as Tuluva.”
Further, he said according to 2011 census report, there are 1,846,427 native Tulu speakers in India. According to an estimate report in 2009, Tulu is spoken by 3 to 5 million people across the world,” he said and appealed to the government to include Tulu language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
In his Facebook post, DYFI State President Muneer Katipalla has said, “Kerala MP representing CPM has raised the issue of Tulu in the eighth schedule of the Constitution. We have not seen our MPs from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi raising their voice. Our MPs are concerned only about cattle, religion and corpse. When will they raise genuine issues?” he asked.
Kateel’s statement on dollar sliding before rupee and pumpwell flyover also came in for ridicule on social media. An audio video clip of Karunakaran’s talk in Parliament has gone viral on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.