Amaravati: Mandali Buddha Prasad opposes renaming of Telugu Akademi

Amaravati: Former Deputy Speaker of Assembly and former chairman of AP Official Language Commission Mandali Buddha Prasad expressed concern over changing the name of Telugu Akademi as Telugu and Sanskrit Akademi by the state government.

Buddha Prasad said that Telugu Akademi was set up in 1968 with Central government funds with an aim to develop research, modernisation of language and spreading of Telugu language.

He said former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao served as first chairman of the Akademi. The Akademi developed and published textbooks from Intermediate to post-graduation level. He said Akademi was developed as a self-sufficient organisation with funds to a tune of Rs 300 crore.

Later, the state government failed to get funds for the Akademi after bifurcation. During Lakshmi Parvathi's tenure also no funds were allocated to the institution, he said.

Buddha Prasad said if the government is keen on developing Sanskrit language, it should set up separate Sanskrit Akademi instead of clubbing it with Telugu Akademi.

He said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy should give priority for Telugu language which is our mother tongue and should not kill it. He said the government was meting out injustice to Telugu language by introducing English medium in schools.

The government should set up separate Akademi for Sanskrit language and allocate funds for both Telugu and Sanskrit Akademis separately, he added.