Chief Minister Siddaramaiah declared on Thursday that information on signboards in Karnataka has to be displayed in Kannada and that the administration will pass an ordinance to make sure this was done.
He said that while everyone can demonstrate, nobody should harm the state or property owned by the public.
The chief minister was responding to the widespread devastation that Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists committed in Bengaluru on Wednesday, targeting stores and commercial buildings that lacked Kannada nameplates, signs, and advertisements.
CM Siddaramaiah denounced the vandalism and stated, "We are not against protests. We will take action against those who use the law to enforce their own agenda, but we will not stand in the way of anyone who speaks up against injustice or seeks justice.
"You need Kannada boards. The boards here should be in Kannada since this is Kannada Nadu. Although we have nothing against other languages, Kannada ought to be widely spoken," he continued.
For Kannada displays, the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) is requesting 60% of the area on signboards.
The date of the ordinance's implementation is February 28, 2024.
In addition, the government intends to alter section 17(6) of the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act (KLCDA) - 2022, which was enacted on March 10, 2023, in advance of the assembly elections, by the previous BJP government.
