Bengaluru: The State Government will organise 3rd World Kannada Meet in the month of November or December this year at Davanagere. It was decided during the preliminary meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddharamaiah at Vidhana Soudha here yesterday.

Though a section of writers and others asked if it was necessary to organise the meet amidst drought, the others said that drought will not be an issue for organising World Kannada Meet.  

Addressing the meeting, CM Siddharamaiah said that the first Kannada Meet was held during the reigns of Ramakrishna Hegde and the second meet was held after a long gap when Yeddyurappa was the Chief Minister.

“I had decided to organise the World Kannada Meet when I took oath as Chief Minister. The Government could not organise owing to continuous drought. But, we have decided to organise the meet either in the month of November of December in Davanagere,” he added.

The writers, thinkers and other littérateurs, who attended the meeting, urged Chief Minister Siddharamaiah not to invite people with no Kannada knowledge to inaugurate the World                                                Kannada Meet.

They said that previously N.R. Narayana Murthy, former Infosys Chairman, who had no Kannada knowledge, had inaugurated the meet which served no purpose and urged Siddharamaiah to invite Bharat Ratna Prof. C.N.R. Rao, who had put Karnataka on world map.

Kannada and Culture Minister Umashree, Rural Development and Panchyat Raj Minister H.K. Patil, Dr. Marulasiddappa, Chidanandamurthy, Mallika Ghanti, Chandrashekar Patil, Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Manu Baligar, Mukhyamantri Chandru, T.N. Seetharam and others were present.