Bengaluru, Feb 28 (IANS) Condemning the attacks on RTC bus staff in Maharashtra and Belagavi for not speaking Marathi, Kannada organisations have announced a Karnataka bandh on March 22.

The Chairman of Kannada Okkuta (Federation of Kannada Organizations), an umbrella body of pro-Kannada and other groups, Vatal Nagaraj, made the announcement in Bengaluru after holding a meeting with various Kannada organisations.

Vatal Nagaraj stated: “I request Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to extend his full support to the Karnataka bandh on March 22. This is not a political issue. I further appeal to the Kannada film industry, the Government Employees Association, private and government schools, and cab aggregators to shut down operations and support the bandh.”

He claimed that more than 1,000 organisations have already declared their support, and over 2,000 more are expected to confirm soon.

He added that Kannada people have been continuously targeted in Belagavi for a long time.

“Whom does Belagavi belong to – Karnataka or Maharashtra? This should be decided. Successive governments have failed to curb the high-handedness of certain Marathi-speaking groups, MES, and Shiv Sena,” he added.

He further criticised politicians in Belagavi, stating that leaders from BJP, Congress, and JD-S act as agents of Marathi-speaking people.

He said that the Federation of Kannada Organisations has decided to stage a massive protest on March 22 as a show of strength for the self-respect of Karnataka’s people.

“We have also demanded a ban on the MES,” he said.

Prominent Kannada activist S. R. Govindu stated that on March 3 (Monday), a massive silent procession will be held from Town Hall to Freedom Park to condemn the high-handedness of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) in Belagavi and the attacks on Karnataka bus drivers and conductors in Maharashtra.

Additionally, Kannada organisations plan to stage a bandh at Attibele Toll on March 11 and a Hoskote Toll bandh on March 16 – both toll plazas are near the Karnataka border.

A Belagavi Chalo protest has been planned for March 7, and activists are also preparing to lay siege to Raj Bhavan on March 3 following the silent march.

However, major Kannada organisations, including the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (T.A. Narayana Gowda faction and Praveen Kumar Shetty faction), have announced that they will not support the Karnataka bandh.

Vatal Nagaraj, however, has asserted that the bandh will take place regardless of participation from other groups and he will request both to extend their support.

Tension prevailed in the border district of Belagavi last Saturday after an RTC bus conductor was assaulted by a group for asking them to speak in Kannada. RTC bus services between Karnataka and Maharashtra were halted for over two days, causing severe inconvenience to people in both states. Lodging of the POCSO case against the RTC conductor, attacked for allegedly not speaking Marathi, further complicated the matter.

As tensions continued in the Karnataka-Maharashtra border areas following the attack, the family of the minor girl involved in the case later announced their decision to withdraw the POCSO case. The girl’s mother also appealed to the people of Karnataka and Maharashtra not to escalate the issue.

Authorities have since managed to restore normalcy in the border districts but remain concerned about further developments.

–IANS

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