Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah conducted a high-level meeting on December 28 regarding the placement of Kannada nameplates in front of shops and offices across the state. "I have asked officials of Kannada and Culture department to bring an ordinance and implement 60% Kannada nameplates and 40% other language nameplates and the same will be notified and rules will be formed. I request companies, organisations and other shops to change their nameplates before February 28, 2024. People need not to be panic," said Siddaramaiah.
The move comes after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said that commercial stores under the administrative body must install 60 percent Kannada language nameplates by February 28, 2024.
BBMP and Culture Department officials were also present in the meeting.
Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), a pro-Kannada activist group, had called for all businesses and establishments in the state to display nameplates in Kannada. The group held protests across the state regarding the same.
Union minister Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday (December 27) he did agree with the demand that shop signages in Karnataka should be predominantly in the local language.
According to an NDTV report, when questioned regarding the Kannada language row, Joshi, the MP from Dharwad, said,"Everybody should be able to read the signs and not everyone can read English. What is the harm in writing in Kannada as well as in English or another language, like Hindi? This is not England."
He further added, "If there has been violence that cannot be approved but these people (shopkeepers) should also understand the sentiment and the necessity."
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