CM Siddaramaiah urges commercial establishments to include Kannada prominently on their name boards

Two of Bengaluru's biggest malls -- Phoenix Mall of Asia in Hebbal and Phoenix Marketcity in Whitefield -- had to be shut down on Wednesday evening, as pro-Kannada group Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) protested demanding Kannada Signboards. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) activists also smashed flower pots outside Mall of Asia, vandalized English signboards, and sprayed them with black ink.CM Siddaramaiah urged commercial establishments to include Kannada prominently on their name boards. He said, “Whether you were born or brought up in Karnataka or have made a livelihood by staying here, we consider all of them Kannadigas. It is our duty to abide by the law of the land.” Here, Deputy CM DK Shivkumar said that the government would not tolerate violence or attacks on commercial establishments. He asked pro-Kannada activists to work within the legal framework.

Activists of the Narayana Gowda faction of the Karnataka Defense Forum, which has waged a war against English nameplates, staged a protest in front of many commercial establishments today. They went to big commercial establishments and destroyed the English language nameplates that were flourishing there. There was also a conflict with the police. Many big commercial stores, including Mall Vidya, followed a disdainful attitude to put up Kannada language nameplates. Mall Asia has changed its nameplate since last week as the massive protests turned violent. Karaway activists are holding protests across the city. A situation has developed in which the police are struggling to control the situation. Police officials used lathi-charge and detained some of the protesters to control the situation. Karaway workers gathered in large numbers near Sadahalli Gate on Airport Road today. English name plate at Sadahalli toll vandalized. A huge protest march was held from there to the city.It is to be noted that the state government's mandate that 60 percent of the nameplate content should be in Kannada by Feb. 28th, 2024 or lose their trade license and face legal action.There were roadblocks here and there.
 

The traffic system of the airport was disrupted. Besides, similar protests were held on other major roads as well. Karaway workers have torn down the huge English-language plex banners installed in the middle of the road. As a precautionary measure, the police intercepted the Karave activists and took them into custody. However, activists organized in different areas continued to fight against English nameplates. Speaking to reporters, Karaway President Narayana Gowda said Bangalore should become Kannada. Otherwise, there will be no survival for the Kannadigas in the future. Commercial establishments and malls have demanded that it is not enough to use Kannada only on the outside nameplates, they should also have Kannada inside. We have requested to allow Karaway's protest today. He warned that the activists will continue their struggle if there is an attempt to suppress the protest by force. The government responded to our demand and set a deadline of the 28th Feb. Even after that, if Kannadaization is not done, the government will be responsible for the disaster in the coming days. He said that this struggle will take place not only in Bangalore but across the state.