Thiruvananthapuram, Jan. 28 -- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the concerns raised by the Karnataka government over Kerala's decision to make Malayalam a compulsory first language in schools are baseless.

In a reply letter sent to Karnataka CM Siddaramiah, he pointed out that the legislation contains no provision that violates the constitutional rights of linguistic minorities.

The Kerala CM also dismissed allegations that the Malayalam language is being imposed in Kannada-medium schools, calling them unfounded. He clarified that while the law designates Malayalam as the official language, students whose mother tongue is not Malayalam are simply being given the opportunity to study it alongside their primary language. ...