With the ‘Namma Metro Hindi Beda’ campaign gaining momentum in the city, representatives of the Union and Karnataka state governments held a meeting on Thursday to discuss the presence of Hindi signs at Metro Stations.
Union minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation, D V Sadananda Gowda, Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George and MP PC Mohan, and other government representatives met to discuss the issue, the Times of India reported.
While Sadananda Gowda is of the opinion that there should be a three-language policy, KJ George does not want Hindi signs in Namma Metro at all.
The meeting was a failure as parties involved failed to reach a consensus. Gowda said that the social media campaign #NammaMetroHindiBeda is the confusion and hype caused by the media.
“As a central minister, I am saying we should adopt a three-language system. Priority should be given to Kannada, and Hindi is spoken in many states. English should also be used because it is an international language and Bengaluru is one of the greatest IT cities. We have many people from all over the world who can understand English,” TOI quoted Gowda as saying.
However, Minister George said that he is absolutely against Hindi signs in Namma Metro and said that his stand on the issue is the same as that of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s.
The Chief Minister, during his visit to New Delhi, recently, had said that Hindi signs must be removed from Namma Metro Stations and only Kannada and English should be used.
PC Mohan, on the other hand, said that the decision on signages in Metro Stations must be made by the state government.
Mohan said that the Centre and state governments have equal share in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Namma Metro.
The cost sharing agreement had put forth a condition that Hindi language be used in all station in signages and announcements. However, if the state government decides to remove Hindi signages, then the choice will be respected by the Centre, Mohan added.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), has beefed up security in some more stations, including MG Road. One KSRP platoon has been deployed at each station. However, BMRCL, refused to comment on why the additional security.
On Sunday, Hindi signages at the Majestic and Chickpete Metro Sttations were masked and later removed.
Activists had alleged that the state government may have directed BMRCL to remove the signs. The police also alleged the same and said that BMRCL had not filed any complaint of vandalism.
BMRCL, however, failed to say who had masked the signs.