Even as the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) is opposing the Karnataka government's proposal to introduce English medium classes in 1,000 primary schools, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, called the KDA "an insignificant group of nay sayers", sparking war of words between the corporate heavyweight and the civic body. 
 
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw in a Twitter post said media always portrays a small an insignificant group of 'nay sayers' as ‘activists’ - these are usually 'attention seeking trouble makers who don’t care about education and employment'.

Notably, the KDA chairman had led a delegation comprising freedom fighter H S Doreswamy and writers Chandrashekar Kambar, Chandrashekar Patil and M Chidanandamurthy to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, urging him to rollback the proposal to introduce English medium classes in the schools and instead encourage education in the mother tongue, Kannada.
"Political malcontents are trying to play mischief with my tweets. I have said students shd learn both Kannada and English for good job opportunities. I stand by this for the sake of Karnataka’s youth. Pls don’t twist my comments.  CM is also saying this @CMofKarnataka," she tweeted.
 

KDA Chairman S G Siddaramaiah sought apology from her in a letter. "It is but natural for people like you to simply equate education with employment, to wash your hands of by whimsically adopting few government schools out of your CSR funds and inculcate unwanted English ambitions in their minds," PTI quoted Siddaramaiah  as saying.