CM siddaramaiah writes to Centre, urges not to impose Hindi

Bengaluru: The usage of Hindi boards at metro stations is not essential stated Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday urging the Centre against its imposition.

The chief minister wrote a letter to Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informing him about the state decision to use only Kannada and English boards at metro stations temporarily in the back drop of the protests staged by pro-Kannada activists.

He further mentioned that the metro commuters are comfortable reading and understanding Kannada and (or) English and thus Hindi boards were not necessary.

“Although the state government has strictly dealt with those who defaced the signages and maintained law and order around metro stations, you would agree that in the face of a continue agitation,it is counter-productive to insist on use of three languages, including Hindi," he wrote adding that cultural aspirations and sentiments of the people of Karnataka need to be respected.

The Namma Metro Hindi Beda campaign that started on Twitter had gained momentum in the state with activists opposing the trilingual language policy and asking to do away with imposition of Hindi. The activists had staged protests as well as blackened the boards at Metro stations across the city.