Hindi posters welcoming PM to Bengaluru smeared with black ink

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

The city police detained several activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) including the youth president TA Narayana Gowda, after they sprayed black ink on several banners and flex boards that carried greetings in Hindi to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi near Mysuru Road here in the city.

According to sources, the flex boards in Hindi language had been installed by minister Munirathna Naidu and his supporters near Kengeri ahead of the PM's visit. But as soon as the matter came to light, there was an uproar by the KRV activists, who tried to remove the banners.

Soon, KRV leader TA Dharmaraj rushed to the spot and allegedly smeared black ink over the flexes. Though the police tried to stop them, it was to no avail, sources added. Praveen Shetty, president of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, said that the BJP government is insulting Kannada language by putting up the welcome banners in Hindi.

“We cannot tolerate this attitude by the government. We won’t allow only Hindi boards in and around the city. The police took our activists and members to the police station, but we will not stop our fight,” he said.

The pro-Kannada activists warned of dire consequences if the Hindi banners were not removed. However, the banners smeared with black ink were removed from their places. Several activists, including TA Dharmaraj was arrested by police in connection to the incident.

An activist from KRV, however, said they have no problems with the English banners. But they will not accept banners carrying the Hindi language. Following the incident, heavy police security was deployed on Mysuru Road and security was stepped on at venues where the Prime Minister’s events were scheduled.