Governor Must Reconsider Ordinance on Kannada Name Boards: DCM D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Jan 31: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar today appealed to Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot to reconsider the Ordinance making Kannada mandatory on name boards.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha on rejection of Ordinance on Kannada name boards, he said, “Language is an emotional issue for Kannadigas. Neither the citizens nor any political party has raised any concern regarding the Ordinance and hence I appeal to him to reconsider Ordinance once again.”

“I don’t know why the Governor has sent back the Ordinance which mandates 60% Kannada in name boards without signing. The Governor should have signed it without waiting for the Assembly session,” he said.

“Like we are committed to protect the interest of the nation, we are committed to protect the interest of the State too. The Ordinance was to protect Kannada language, culture and pride. We took the decision to pass an Ordinance in view of protests by pro-Kannada activists,” he said.

“In view of the rejection of the Ordinance, we have decided to introduce a bill on this in the upcoming Assembly session. The session will start in about 10-15 days and this bill will be tabled,” Mr Shivakumar said.

Balakrishna’s statement

Responding to a question on Congress MLA Balakrishna’s statement that guarantees will be stopped if Congress party doesn’t win enough seats in the upcoming Parliamentary elections, he said, “Balakrishna has not given any such statement. BJP is the one which is spreading the rumour that guarantee schemes will stop after the election.”

Party workers meet on Feb 17 in Mangaluru
Mr Shivakumar said that the mega convention of Congress party workers would be held in Mangaluru on February 17 and urged party workers to participate in large numbers.

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