New Delhi: Karnataka governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has rejected an ordinance that attempts to increase the use of Kannada in signboards of businesses in the state, deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar revealed on Tuesday (January 30).The state cabinet had approved the ordinance on January 5 to amend the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act and mandate 60% use of the state’s language in signboards. Currently, the law requires the use of Kannada in the “upper-half portion” of boards displaying the names of businesses, PTI reported.“We made a law and approved an ordinance. The Governor could have given his assent. Instead, he has sent it back saying it should be passed in the Assembly,” Shivakumar said, without elaborating.The state government had approved the ordinance in wake of violent protests led by pro-Kannada groups targeting businesses in Bengaluru.This is the first disagreement between the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government and the Raj Bhavan that has come out in the open, the report said.It is being speculated that the timing of the rejection, just ahead of the Budget session scheduled to begin next month, may have significance. Gehlot is set to address both houses of legislature on February 12.Siddaramaiah had met Gehlot a day before Shivakumar’s announcement. According to the report, Gehlot signed off on three bills after the chief minister urged him to clear the bills passed in the Belagavi session of the legislature in December.One of the cleared bills eliminates compulsory rural service for medical graduates. However, of the 17 bills passed in the Belagavi session, the governor has assented to only five.Additionally, the decision to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) in Karnataka could strain relations between the state and the Raj Bhavan. Recently, the People’s Forum for Karnataka Education presented a petition signed by 10 lakh stakeholders to the governor seeking intervention to ensure the continuation of NEP in the state.