Would've learnt Kannada if Bangalore imprisonment had extended: Advani

Taking a trip down memory lane senior BJP leader LK Advani Tuesday professed his love for Kannada and said he would have learnt the language had his imprisonment in a Bangalore jail during the Emergency extended beyond 19 months.

"I would have learnt Kannada and addressed the gathering in Kannada if my imprisonment had extended beyond 19 months in Bangalore Central Prison during Emergency," he said on the occasion of Rajyotsava Day celebrations.

Advani, currently on the last day of his two-day tour of BJP ruled Karnataka, recalled he had once written his name in Kannada at an all-party meet convened by then Prime Minister Chandrashekhar in New Delhi.

"The then Karnataka Chief Minister Devaraj Urs had enquired about my Kannada writing capability, to which HN Bahuguna replied saying it was the Congress government which sent me to Bangalore Central Prison where I learnt Kannada," Advani said.

Advani's love for Karnataka was reflected in his narration to Indira Gandhi when he proposed Supreme Court Judge KS Hegde's name for the post of President.

He said he would have been happy if he had seen Supreme Court Judge K S Hegde, father of former Karnataka Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde and a native of Uttara Kannada, becoming President.

"Justice Hegde could not become President as Indira Gandhi had superceded his appointment in Parliament as she was keen on Sanjeeva Reddy," he said.

The BJP leader also reminisced good times he spent with late Karnataka Chief Minister Ramkrishna Hegde and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda in Bangalore Central Prison during Emergency. "Because of the Emergency I developed a close relationship with Ramkrishna Hegde and Deve Gowda."