Karnataka: Siddaramaiah government to take ordinance route to enforce 60% Kannada on hoardings

In India's Karnataka, the Congress government is poised to take the ordinance route to enforce the allocation of 60 per cent signboard space to Kannada in all business establishments. This seeks to replace the existing 50 per cent ratio in place.

This comes after 53 pro-Kannada activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) were arrested for vandalism, targeting shops and business establishments that did not display Kannada signboards, advertisements, and nameplates.

CM Siddaramaiah says anyone can protest

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On Thursday, in a statement, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the government would enact an ordinance to ensure that signboards in the state are displayed in Kannada.

"Kannada boards are a must. This is Kannada nadu and the boards should be in Kannada here. We are not opposed to other languages, but Kannada should be prominent," he said.

Condemning the vandalism, he asserted that anyone can protest but no one should cause damage to government or public property.

"We are not opposed to protests. We will not oppose anyone who raises their voice against injustice or seek justice, but will take action against those who take the law into their hands," said the CM.

Apart from the 53 people arrested over the vandalism of businesses, as per news agency PTI, KRV president T A Narayana Gowda was arrested and over 1,000 activists of the outfit were taken into preventive custody.

The 53 arrested KRV activists have been sent to 14 days' judicial custody till January 14 by a Bengaluru magistrate.

The ordinance

As per the report, the ordinance will come into effect on February 28, 2024.

"I have asked the officials to bring an ordinance because the assembly is not in session. The ordinance will come into effect on February 28, 2024. All the shops, business establishments, hotels, malls, and hospitals have to follow this ordinance," said CM Siddaramaiah.

Alongside the ordinance, the government will also bring an amendment to section 17(6) of the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act (KLCDA)-2022. This section pertains to the allocation of at least half of the signboard space by commercial, industrial or business organisations, institutions, hospitals, laboratories, entertainment centres, hotels, etc. With the amendment, now this mandatory space will be increased to sixty per cent.

(With inputs from agencies)