A day after vandalism incidents shook Bengaluru, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah held a high-level meeting with the officials of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the department of Kannada and Culture. He said that an ordinance will be passed where the commercial establishments will be directed to put name plates with 60% Kannada on it. He also urged everyone who is running a business in Karnataka to follow the rules and not panic.
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He said, “I directed the officials of BBMP and culture department to pass an ordinance and implement the ‘60% Kannada’ rule on all name plates. Rules will be formed, and they will be notified to everyone.”
Siddaramaiah also urged establishments to follow the guidelines set by the state government. “It is important to prioritise the local language and highlight it in the name plates. Owners must change the name boards if they don’t have 60% Kannada on them by February 28. I assure safety of all businesses and need to panic,” he added.
The chief minister also condemned the rampage created by Karnataka Rakhsana Vedike on Wednesday. “Nobody should take law and order into their own hands. We do not encourage any kind of vandalism in Bengaluru,” he further said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said that there is an act already to protect the local language. He said, “There is already an act to protect Kannada language and culture. But we need an amendment to section 17, sub-section 6, wherein the percentage of language has to be decided, like the name boards etc. The 60:40 (Kannada to a secondary language) ratio will be brought in by an ordinance.”
However, earlier on Tuesday, BBMP had already directed the commercial establishments to install signage boards with 60% Kannada in it. BBMP commissioner Tushar Girinath said, “There are 1400 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads in the city, and all the commercial shops on these roads will be surveyed zone wise. After the survey a notice will be given to the shops that do not use 60% Kannada language. After issuing the notice, they will be given time till February 28 to implement Kannada language nameplates and submit compliance to the respective zone commissioners.”
