Siddaramaiah warns after Kannada protest turns violent in Bengaluru

In Karnata,about 60 protesters of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike(KRV), a Kannada activist group, were detained on 27th Dec. and sent to Parappana Agrahara Jail for judicial custody as per courts directon after they vandalised some stores in Bengaluru demanding Kannada nameplates to be put up abiding by the guidelines of the civic authority. Several videos of their bombardment on Bengaluru streets, in front of Phoenix Mall of Asia, went viral. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president  Narayan Gowda said that it organised an awareness protest rally about the 60% Kannada on signboard rule which is a government law. Some social media accounts claimed nameplates which had Kannada apart from English were also destroyed. Now the same group is demanding government to release them from judicial custody.
Its right to protest for any Kannadiga to save and promote his language. But taking law into their own hands is not an excuse. It is a democratic process to demonstrate when Kannada usage is neglected in Karnataka. But at the same time care should be taken to safeguard peace and tranquility of the society. There shall be no violence and loss to the property both public and private. The erratic way of protesters is detrimental to the national integrity and harmony. The organizers should have behaved in a proper way instead of taking to violence and destroy property. They have clashed with police and obstructed the vehicular movement. This is highly deplorable.
After all it is up to State Government to enforce the rule of official language in the state. But when these agencies set keeping quiet, the KRV can insist on government to implement if there is any policy. Instead of doing so, they have themselves taken law in to their hands. This incident has happened because of lethargic attitude of government agencies. As it is always  the case with commercial establishments, they prefer English in their sign boards. First they have to come up heartily to use Kannada in their business. Basically the protesters need to change this attitude of shop keepers by winning their hearts.
What is the 60% Kannada rule?
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike(BBMP) has come up with a rule that all commercial establishments will have to put up 60% signage in Kannada. More than half of a signboard should read in Kannada, according to this guideline. A deadline of February 28 has been given, failing which the shops will be closed and their trade licenses cancelled. When this is the case, KVP shall have waited till that dead line.
'Don't take action before Feb 28': FKC
The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday said the authorities should not take action before the deadline. The federation said it will ask all its members to follow the rule  of but the government should not take any action against establishments before the deadline. Many establishments were not aware that the 60% Kannada was a BBMP rule and not the demand of some fringe organisations.One cannot agree with FKCCI argument of not knowing the rules. One cannot take shelter under ignorance of laws of the region. But there was no urgency for KVP to take into its hands. They could have waited till Feb 28 deadline. KVP should develop the attitude of respecting rules.' move to other states if you don't display Kannada boards...': said KVP President Narayan Gowda after the rampage of the pro-Kannada protestors, but this statement is not in a good taste. Such provoking slogans will harm the harmony of a society known for its tolerance and cordiality.
This is not England: Pralhad Joshi amid BJP vs Congress over Bengaluru rampage
While the Karnataka BJP leaders blamed the Congress government for creating the Kannadiga versus non-Kannadiga row in Bengaluru, Union minister and Karnataka MP Pralhad Joshi backed the demand of 60% Kannada and asked why the establishments don't want Kannada signage. "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 said.
CM Siddaramaiah warns of action against whoever takes law into hands
After the rampage of the pro-Kannada protestors, chief minister Siddaramaiah said, "I don't know what they (the protestors) are doing. I have got information that they are protesting about having Kannada name boards. We will take action against those who took the law into their own hands and went against the law.Later he clarified that a law will be enacted soon to make 60% space reserved for Kannada in sign boards. "I have asked officials of the 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. 
It is surprising that the State Government has no any such laws enacted to promote its official language. In this lacuna violent protests will go against the interest of Kannada. It is unfortunate for Kannadigas to fight for their language in its own state. But there's no way.We will have to wait untill then to form laws and rules by the Government. Let Government speedily undertake this law making process to strengthen Kannada language use age.

(Dr Mysi Patil, State Correspondent)