On Thursday, protesters in Bengaluru defaced Hindi names of the various metro stations.
Hindi name boards of five Metro stations – Yeshwantpur, Peenya, Deepanjali Nagar, Jayanagar and Mysore Road – were blackened by Kannada Rakshana Vedike activists late Wednesday night, a police official said.
The KRV protesters defaced the Hindi signboards at the Namma Metro stations in the city.
The activists also said that they would continue covering up Hindi signs, as their demands have not been met. The police personnel posted at the station immediately pounced into action and took the activists into custody before they could do the damage. The Kannada Development Authority also issued a 15 day deadline to BMRCL to remove Hindi signages. “So, we started covering up the Hindi signs”, said Ganesh Chethan, a member of the KRV. Security at all Metro stations has been enhanced. Supporters of the campaign argued that the Namma Metro should not follow the three-language formula when other metros did not do so.
Meanwhile, several activists protesting against the imposition of Hindi in states haev made a decision to hold a meeting in capital towards the end of August, The Times of India reported.
Parties like Karnataka’s Janata Dal (Secular) and Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) have criticised the Centre for “imposing” Hindi language in their states.
“Why should Hindi be imposed?” The placards and banners waved by them resented forcible imposition of Hindi on people living in Bengaluru. “So, we will not stop”, Ganesh Chetan added.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during his recent visit to Delhi had reportedly said he would lodge a protest with the Centre on “imposition” of Hindi.