The Bengaluru police on Wednesday arrested the members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) for a violent protest in the city. The arrests came after the members of the pro-Kannada activist group vandalised the business establishments in Bengaluru and demanded Kannada nameplates.
TN Narayan Gowda, the president of
Karnataka Rakshana Vedika (KRV), said that his group was only raising awareness about the state government’s 60% Kannada language on signboard rule. However, reports of members targetting nameplates and sign boards for not adhering to the rule surfaced from across the city.
What is the 60% Kannada rule?
The municipal body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), recently came up with a rule asking commercial establishments to put up 60% Kannada language signage. According to the guideline, it says that more than half of a signboard should be read in Kannada.
Following the rule, February 28, 2024, was set as the deadline to change all the nameplates of the shops. Failure to adhere to the rule after the deadline may lead to the closure of commercial establishments and their trade licenses getting cancelled.
Additionally, the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) on Wednesday asked the authorities to take no action before the deadline. The FKCCI stated that they will ask all their members to follow the 60% Kannada rule, while the government should not take any action before the given deadline.
In the meantime, the
pro-Kannada activist group, KRV organised a protest in the city, damaging shops for not prominently featuring the Kannada language. Some of the activists tore down the English nameplates, while others sprayed black ink on the boards, reported India Today.
As per the reports, several shop owners claimed they were not even aware that the 60% Kannada rule was a BBMP rule. According to a Hindustan Times report, the KRV president, TN Narayan Gowda mentioned that the stores that do not want Kannada names on their signboards should move out of Karnataka.
He said, “People from various states are doing business in Bengaluru. But they don't put Kannada nameplates on their shops. They are only putting up the nameplates of their shops in English. If they want to stay back in Bengaluru, then they have to put nameplates on their shops in Kannada”
Following the violent protest,
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “I don't know what they are doing. I have got information that Narayana Gowda is protesting about having Kannada nameplates. We will take action against those who took the law into their own hands and went against the law”.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
