Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday said that while he is not in favor of violence, he agrees with the requirement that shop signage in Karnataka should be predominantly in the local language. Speaking to NDTV, hours after pro-Kannada groups went on rampage in the capital Bengaluru, the Dharwad MP wondered why shopkeepers insist on writing signs only in English.
“Everyone should be able to read the boards and not everyone can read English. What is the harm in writing in Kannada but also in English or some other language like Hindi? This is not England,” he told NDTV then he was asked if the submarine The nationalism invoked by the Congress is worrying the BJP.
“If there has been violence that cannot be condoned, these people (shopkeepers) should also understand the sentiment and the need,” he added.
The civic rules in Bengaluru state that 60 percent of signage must be written in the state's vernacular language.
But as many shops, especially in malls, skirted the rule, pro-Kannada groups – who have long been demanding local signage – vandalized more than 20 shops in the city.
Besides malls in MG Road, Brigade Road, Lavelle Road and St Marks Road, protests were also held along the Kempegowda International Airport.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who sparked the language row in October and observed that “everyone living in this state must learn to speak Kannada”, said he was aware of the current developments.
“We will take action against those who took the law into their own hands and went against the law,” Siddaramaiah said.
BBMP chief Tushar Giri Nath said commercial shops under the civic body's jurisdiction must comply with the rule by February 28 or face legal action, including suspension of business licenses.
