Overview
- Karnataka’s Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Bill remains under the Governor’s consideration with no assent or rejection, as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah says he will brief Raj Bhavan.
- The BJP says it will meet Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to urge him to withhold assent, arguing the measure threatens free expression.
- The proposed law classifies hate speech as a cognisable, non-bailable offence with prison terms from one year for a first offence and higher multi-year terms for repeat offences, plus fines.
- Raj Bhavan has approved 19 of 22 recent state bills and returned the Scheduled Castes internal reservation measure and the Chamundeshwari Temple Bill seeking clarifications.
- A parallel dispute has escalated over Kerala’s Malayalam Language Bill, with Kerala’s CM citing minority safeguards in Clause 7 as Karnataka’s CM warns he will contest the law if it receives gubernatorial assent, even as police arrests and a planned BJP padayatra keep the Ballari violence in focus.