Overview
- Karnataka’s Raj Bhavan says the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Bill is under consideration, with no assent or return issued weeks after passage.
- Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has approved 19 of 22 recent bills and returned two for clarifications, including the Scheduled Castes internal reservation measure and the Chamundeshwari temple amendment.
- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he will brief the Governor if called, reiterating that the hate‑speech legislation has neither been approved nor sent back.
- The BJP plans to meet the Governor to urge him to withhold assent, arguing the proposal threatens free expression, while the government says it fills gaps by making hate offences cognisable and non‑bailable with multi‑year prison terms and fines.
- A parallel row has intensified over Kerala’s Malayalam Language Bill, with Kerala’s leadership citing clauses protecting linguistic minorities as Karnataka officials and the border authority seek explicit exemptions for Kannada‑majority areas such as parts of Kasaragod.