Sun Feb 02 21:05:48 IST 2025: ## Karnataka Govt Accused of Blocking School Participation in Cultural Festival
**Kalaburagi, Karnataka – February 3, 2025** – Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Labour and Employment, Shobha Karandlaje, has accused the Karnataka State government of hindering participation in the Bharatiya Samskriti Utsav, a cultural festival currently underway in Sedam, Kalaburagi district.
Karandlaje alleges that the State government issued verbal instructions to schools and colleges, prohibiting student participation in the event. She claims the government avoided issuing a formal written directive due to fear of public backlash.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the Minister criticized the State government for injecting politics into what she described as a non-political cultural event. She further stated that the government’s actions ignore the significant contributions of the event’s organizer, Sri Kottala Basaveshwara Bharatiya Shikshana Samithi, to the field of education over the past few decades. Karandlaje raised similar concerns during a public address at the festival. The seventh edition of the Bharatiya Samskriti Utsav featured a cultural dance performance on Saturday.
First Piper 