Bengaluru: Health Minister U.T. Khader on Tuesday said that the Government plans to hold ‘Urdu Habba’ (Urdu festival) on the grand steps of VidhanaSoudha in the State capital on Nov.9 as part of Urdu Day.

Speaking to representatives of Urdu newspapers on the fourth day of the 5-day ‘Karnataka Parva’ event at Tripura Vasini Palace Grounds in Bengaluru, Khader, who is also the Minister for Waqf, said the event will showcase Urdu culture, books, cuisine and various art forms. 

BJP, Kannada activists oppose event

A day after Minister Khader announced that the ‘Urdu Habba’ will be held on the steps of VidhanaSoudha, MLA and senior BJP leader S. Suresh Kumar on Wednesday urged Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to drop the plans.

In a social media post, Suresh Kumar, who is also a former Minister, questioned the need for organising the Urdu festival when Kannada literature and culture had not been given a similar platform.

Maintaining that the issue was not about Urdu, but the Government’s priorities, he wondered how many times has Kannada language, literature and culture received such a grand platform under the Congress Government.

He also questioned why the steps of VidhanaSoudha, which he described as a ‘symbol of Kannada identity’ was chosen for the event. Asserting that the BJP had no objection to the Government promoting Urdu literature and culture, he asked whether similar opportunities would be extended to other linguistic communities.

‘Urdu Habba’ has also drawn opposition from Kannada activists with Karnataka RakshnaVedike President T.A. Narayanagowda urging the Govt. to withdraw the plan.