Kannada activists insist on product package details in Kannada

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Pro-Kannada leader TA Narayana Gowda had demanded that the governments implent the Kannada language policy for products and also accord priority in job reservations for Kannadigas and has threatened to “intensify protests” if these demands are not looked into. At the fag end of 2023, pro-Kannada activists had gone on an rampage vandalising businesses which did not comply with the 60 per cent Kannada rule on hoardings on their buildings. This prompted the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to impose the rule on businesses.

Gowda has now proposed that this rule be imposed on products sold in the market. Addressing the media, he claimed that the International Organisation for Standards (ISO), recommends that packaging of products be printed according to the regional language. He went on to say that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) also has similar rules and that international trade is taking place accordingly. “If a product from China to the US is imported, then the packaging is printed in English rather than in Chinese,” he added. Karnataka is one of the few states in India to have successfully practiced population control.

However, due to a population boom in North India, he claimed that migration to Bengaluru has shot up, leaving the locals with meagre opportunities for employment. “100% of the posts in C and D grades and 60% of the posts in other categoriesshould be given to Kannadigas. All the documents used by these institutions/ given to customers should be in Kannada,” he added.