BANGALORE: Chief minister Siddaramaiah has decided to return official files without seeing them if they aren't in Kannada .

After receiving a report of the Kannada Development Authority ( KDA ), Siddaramaiah expressed his displeasure at the attitude of both the people and officers towards the official language of the state.

"I have told all non-Kannadiga officers to learn Kannada and ensure correspondence in Kannada. Recently, I received a few files in English. I summoned the officers and warned them that I would send back the files if they aren't in Kannada. From the days of the Kannada Kavalu Samiti in the 1980s, more than 300 circulars have been issued directing officers to use Kannada in administration. But it has not yielded the desired results," the CM said.

Citing Tamil Nadu, the CM said: "Tamilians have a commitment to their language. If you speak to them in English, they reply in Tamil. Hence, it's a must to learn Tamil there. But here in Bangalore, it's not the case. We need to create a Kannada atmosphere in our state, particularly in Bangalore."

In his report to the government, KDA chairman Mukhyamantri Chandru made several recommendations to promote Kannada. The report recommends using Kannda in administration, providing job reservation to those who have studied in the Kannada medium, integration of Kannada in IT, development of border areas and more grants for academies related to Kannada and culture. Siddaramaiah assured he would respond positively to the recommendations.

