KRV protests in Hubballi, seeks Kannada option in railway exams

Hubballi: Members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) staged a massive protest rally in Hubballi on Tuesday, alleging injustice and violation of the constitutional rights of Kannadigas and employees in the railway department. Hundreds of activists gathered at Dr BR Ambedkar Circle, garlanded the statue of Dr Ambedkar, paid floral tributes and launched a protest march. The rally proceeded to the Rail Soudha on Gadag Road, where protesters raised slogans demanding language justice for Kannadigas. The agitators said railway recruitment and promotion examinations were conducted only in Hindi and English, creating hurdles for Kannada-speaking employees seeking promotions. They demanded that candidates be allowed to write examinations in their mother tongue. Addressing the gathering, KRV Dharwad district president Manjunath Luthimath demanded that recruitment notifications, application details, service rules and training information be issued in Kannada. He said there should be no compulsion to use Hindi and that Kannada must not be sidelined at railway stations. The outfit sought the constitution of a review committee on Kannada usage in the railways, a high-level probe into language-based discrimination and 75% reservation for locals in railway recruitment. It warned of a statewide agitation if Kannada continued to be excluded. Receiving the memorandum, South Western Railway general manager P Ananth said remaining examinations were being conducted in Kannada and assured the issue of Kannada in promotion exams would be taken up with senior officers.