Overview
- Raj Bhavan has approved 19 of 22 Karnataka bills from the winter session, returned the Scheduled Castes internal quota and Chamundeshwari Temple measures for clarifications, and kept the hate speech legislation under consideration.
- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he will brief Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on the hate speech proposal and noted it has neither been assented to nor sent back.
- The Karnataka BJP, led by Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, plans to ask the Governor to withhold assent, citing concerns over curbs on freedom of expression.
- The draft law classifies certain hate speech as cognisable and non-bailable, with jail terms starting at one year for a first offence and rising to as much as seven years for repeat offences.
- Separately, Kerala’s chief minister defended the Malayalam Language Bill as safeguarding linguistic minorities, while Siddaramaiah warned of a challenge if it becomes law and Kerala’s law minister pressed Congress on its response.