Cases against Kannada activists will be withdrawn, vows CM

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that all cases against pro-Kannada activists would be withdrawn. He made the disclosure after the unveiling of a bronze statue of “Nadadevi Bhuvaneshwari” at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Monday. It is located between gates one and two of the Soudha, which are located on the west-facing side of the building. The statue was carved out by sculptor Gombe Mane Sridhar Murthy. “All cases of Kannada activists will be withdrawn,” Siddaramaiah said.

“Everyone should take pride in the Kannada language, culture and art,” he added. The CM also recalled that then CM Devaraj Urs had renamed then Mysore state to Karnataka on November 1, 1973 and 50 years had been completed since that moment in 2023 on the same date. He also recalled the Kannada poet Channaveera Kanavi to mark that occasion: Hesarayitu Karnataka, Usiragali Kannada (it was named Karnataka, let Kannada be its breath). The event held on Monday evening attracted a large number of people wearing red and yellow stoles, which represent the colours of the Karnataka flag.

State flag must on Rajyotsava: DKS- On the occasion, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar declared that all government and private organisations in Bengaluru would be mandated to hoist the Karnataka flag on their premises on Karnataka Rajyotsava Day, which is November 1, the day on which the state came into existence.

November 1, 1956, is the day on which the Reorganisation of States Act came into being. The new states were carved out along linguistic lines. “In the days to come, we will issue an order making the hoisting of the Kannada flag mandatory on all organisations (both governmental and private) in Bengaluru on Karnataka Rajyotsava Day,” Shivakumar said.

The Deputy CM also pointed out that Karnataka was the only state which had a flag dedicated to its most widely-spoken language and an anthem besides. He was referring to the “Naada Geete” (the song of the land), which was penned by celebrated Kannada poet Kuvempu.