BENGALURU: Kannada activists on Wednesday confirmed that they have called for a ‘Karnataka Bandh’ on December 5 to protest against the State Government’s decision to constitute the Maratha Development Authority.
They criticised Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa’s decision to form the authority and asked him to withdraw the order immediately. Vatal Nagaraj, the leader of Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha, told the media on Wednesday that the State Government is threatening the activists with strict action if they enforce the bandh. “We are not scared of such threats.
We never compromise on issues of language and border. We had given a deadline to the CM to withdraw his decision to form the Maratha authority, but he has not done so far. We have held discussions with other Kannada organisations and asked them to participate in the bandh.
We urge all commercial establishments to shut that day.” Extending support to the bandh, the Taxi Owners’ Association said that cab services will be completely shut between 6 am and 6 pm. The Karnataka Rajkumar Sene has decided to shut Rajajinagar completely.
Two months ago, the city saw massive traffic jams after farmer, Kannada and Dalit groups protested against farm bills. More than 5,000 farmers and activists from different organisations had taken part in the protest.