Puttur (Dakshina Kannada dist)(DHNS): Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Anantkumar Hegde created a controversy on Sunday, by claiming that barring people from Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada, others did not have the capacity to translate from English to pure Kannada.

The minister, who is not new to controversies, has caused embarrassment to his party, the BJP.

Speaking at a programme here, he said, "there are a few people who can translate English to pure Kannada. Barring people from Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada, others do not have capacity to translate to Kannada. The situation in Bengaluru is worse," he said.

Translating from English to Kannada is a challenging task and technology is advancing. With just a certificate, one will not get any benefit. There is a need to create a "hidden army" through knowledge on cyber security, said the minister.

State BJP spokesperson S Suresh Kumar said the minister's statement has hurt a section of the people and that he should withdraw it. "Kannada is spoken differently in different regions of the state. It is not proper on the minister's part to make such a statement. I oppose it. I urge him to withdraw the statement," he said.

He had recently said the Constitution would be changed, drawing criticism from all quarters.