Shravanabelagola : Former union minister and MP M Veerappa Moily tried to claim credit for the implementation of Kannada as the medium of instruction in primary education.

He was speaking to media persons, here, on Monday, during his visit to attend the 81st Akhila Bharatha Kannada Sahitya Sammelana.

Lauding the State government for taking steps to make Kannada as the medium of instruction, he recalled that he had constituted a committee, with H Narasimhaiah as chairman, for the purpose, when he was the chief minister.

“However, the recommendations of the committee could not be implemented due to the intervention of the judiciary. An amendment to the Constitution is necessary for making mother tongue the medium of instruction,” he said.

When his attention was drawn towards the recent Ordinance on the amended Land Acquisition Act, he said, the Centre was robbing the farmers of their right on lands. “The land owners should have a greater say while their lands are used for development, but the Centre has deprived them their rights through the backdoor by promulgating the Ordinance,” he said.