After Bengaluru Shops Get "60%" Order, Pro-Kannada Groups On Rampage
NDTV
The language row is back in focus after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in October "everyone living in this state should learn to speak Kannada".
The language row in Karnataka escalated sharply Wednesday after members of a right-wing group - the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, which is pushing for the enforced use of Kannada - held violent protests across state capital Benglauru, including the Kempegowda International Airport and high-profile business and shopping centres in the city, like MG Road, Brigade Road, Lavelle Road, and St Marks Road. #WATCH | Bengaluru: Kannada Raksha Vedhike holds a protest demanding all businesses and enterprises in Karnataka to put nameplates in Kannada. pic.twitter.com/ZMX5s9iJd0 #WATCH | Police detained members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, protesting to deliver messages to owners of many malls, shops, commercial buildings, companies and factories, especially multinational companies to install Kannada sign boards and give more visibility to the Kannada… pic.twitter.com/tRjsPidLbB
English-language signboards of shops and businesses were damaged by the KRV goons, who declared such signages were "undermining the official language of Karnataka, which is Kannada". Police have taken several of the protesters into preventive custody, including KRV convener TA Narayana Gowda.
"As per rule, 60 per cent of signboards and nameplates should be in Kannada. We are not against some business but if you are doing business in Karnataka then you have to respect our language. If you ignore Kannada, or put Kannada letters in small (print), we will not let you operate here," he told reporters.
