Karnataka govt. withdraws MoS rank to Sahitya Parishat president Mahesh Joshi

The State government has on Saturday withdrawn the Minister of State rank and all the facilities applicable to that rank to Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) president Mahesh Joshi.
Shortly after Mr. Joshi was elected president of the Parishat, the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Basavaraj Bommai had accorded MoS rank to him. This move was criticised by many writers then. This was the first time a KSP president was given a MoS rank.
Reacting sharply to the government revoking the MoS rank to KSP president, Mr. Joshi said that the Parishat was working as a voice of Kannada and thereby withdrawing this honour to its president was an insult to Kannadigas. 'This will create a problem in the cordial relationship between the KSP and the government,' he added.
He further said he had not asked for a MoS rank to be given, but the government accorded this honour following a letter by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda to then Chief Minister Mr. Bommai.

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