Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: State to miss deadline for implementation of Kannada in signboards, and more

With Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot returning to the State government the Ordinance to amend the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act, 2022 — which seeks to make 60% Kannada use mandatory in signboards of shops and commercial establishments — the February 28 deadline for its implementation is in question now. Government will now have to wait for the Budget session, scheduled to start on February 12, for the Act to be amended and implemented.

While it had earlier been reported that Mr. Gehlot had “rejected” the Amendment Bill, the Governor’s office issued a clarification that the Ordinance had only been sent back to the State government “with the advice to present the said Bill before both the Houses of State Legislature for approval” during the Budget session. Following violent protests by pro-Kannada organisations over business establishments in Bengaluru sidelining Kannada, the Congress government had taken the ordinance route.

Suspected Maoist B.G. Krishnamurthy, who once led a team of Naxals in Karnataka, was presented before the Principal District and Session Judge in Shivamogga on January 31. The charges were framed in connection with a blast at the forest gate in Agumbe and a robbery at Bidaragodu in Thirthahalli taluk.

Krishnamurthy faces charges under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and the Explosive Substances Act. A native of Sringeri in Chikkamagaluru district, he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the border of Karnataka and Kerala in November 2023.

People from the Muslim community held a protest at Sirwar in Raichur district on January 31 following reports of desecration of a portrait of Tipu Sultan. Expressing anger over the alleged incident, hundreds of youths and leaders burnt tyres and demanded that the culprits be arrested immediately.

Tahsildar Ravi Angadi who rushed to the spot, convinced the protesters to disperse by promising to nab the perpetrators. Thereafter, the tahsildar washed the portrait and offered puja.

With the number of deaths on railway tracks constantly on the rise, from 292 in 2021 to 541 in 2023, the Palakkad division of Southern Railway has urged people not to trespass railway property, particularly tracks, to avoid being run over by trains.