Kannada organisations, led by Kannada Okkoota president Vatal Nagaraj, on Tuesday staged a protest near Mysore Bank Circle opposing the State government’s move on establishing a Maratha Development Board.
Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha president Vatal Nagaraj urged the government to immediately cancel the order and threatened a Statewide bandh on December 5 if the demand is not met. The protesters burnt an effigy of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. Kannada Okkoota leader Sa. Ra Govindu was also present.
Responding to the protests in a tweet, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa clarified that “Maratha” referred to the community which has been living in Karnataka for generations and is not to be mistaken for the entire linguistic category speaking Marathi.
