Bengaluru, 17 July

A 70-year-old farmer was denied entry at GT Mall for wearing a traditional dhoti and shirt. The incident occurred around 6pm on Tuesday, when Nagaraj from Haveri, along with his father, went to GT Mall on Magadi Road to watch a movie.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike and a pro-Kannada organisation honored the farmer as an apology and protested in front of the mall on Wednesday.

In a viral video on social media, the security guard said, “We have certain rules to follow if you want to make a video of my statement go ahead but I’m working as I’m instructed.”

However, the mall owner has apologised to the public and stated that it was a misunderstanding and that we had suspended the security guard as we did not intend to hurt the feelings of anyone. Taking it to X, Labour Minister Santosh Lad commented, "Siddaramaiah has been ruling the State for seven years as Chief Minister wearing a dhoti. They should learn a lesson from this. We will write to our department or the police department in this regard.”

Agriculture Minister Cheluvarayaswamy stated that the government would try to frame appropriate rules in this regard. "We condemn this. I will discuss with the CM about bringing rules from the government. Farmers should not be insulted.”

Speaking to Salar News, Kuruburu Shanthakumar, the farmer's association State President said, “Apology to the farmer is not enough and we need the statement on why it happened and why nobody in the premises acknowledged this act. Everyone was quiet because the rules exist and we need a statement from the mall authorities or hundreds of farmers from the State would protest at the mall.”

Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) has decided to issue a notice seeking clarification on the conduct of the mall administration. -Salar News