Mysuru: Kannada Kriya Samithi General Secretary S.R. Sudarshan has said that Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) has assured that he would appeal the concerned Union Minister against any plans for shifting the Centre of Excellence for Classical Kannada Studies out of Mysuru.

In a press release, Sudarshan said that a delegation of Kannada Kriya Samithi members and Centre for Excellence for Classical Kannada Studies Horata Samithi, presented a memorandum in this regard to HDK, who arrived in the city on Saturday on a private visit.

Pointing out that the delegation was led by noted Historian Prof. P.V. Nanjaraj Urs, Sudarshan  said that the city has the Oriental Research Institute, Archaeological Survey of India, Saraswathi Bhandara in the Palace etc., which all will largely help in carrying out Kannada studies and research and furthering the cause of Kannada. This apart, the Government has sanctioned 4 acres and 2 guntas of land for the Centre in Manasagangothri campus. When such is the case, the Centre should not be shifted out of Mysuru for any reason, he said.

Responding to the plea, Kumaraswamy said he would take up the matter with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and make all efforts to ensure that the Centre remains in Mysuru. Social activist Aravind Sharma, Karnataka Kannada Vedike President Suresh Babu and others were part of the delegation.