Congress riled as BJP unveils portrait of Savarkar in Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi

Opposition Congress holds protest demanding portraits of Ambedkar, Nehru, Kuvempu, Kanakadasa and Valmiki in the Assembly hall of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha

The winter session of the legislature in Belagavi began on a stormy note with the ruling BJP unveiling seven portraits in the Assembly hall of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (SVS), including that of Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar. The opposition Congress members, led by Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D. K. Shivakumar, staged a protest at the entrance of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (SVS) before commencement of the session seeking portraits of Valmiki, Kanakadasa, Ambedkar, Kuvempu and other ‘iconic figures’.

Congress members sat on the steps leading to the entrance of SVS holding images of Kanakadasa, Ambedkar, Valmiki and Kuvempu. They wanted portraits of these persons to be unveiled in the Assembly Hall.

Before staging the protest, Mr. Siddaramaiah wrote to Assembly Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri requesting that portraits of various other personalities too should be unveiled in the Assembly Hall of SVS.

In the letter, he listed the names of Basavanna, Narayanaguru, Maharshi Valmiki, Kanakadasa, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ambedkar, Kuvempu, Vallabhbhai Patel and Babu Jagjivanram saying they have made valuable contributions to the nation in various ways.

The BJP countered that the Congress’ iconic leader and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had hailed Savarkar and his contribution to India.

BJP State general secretary Ravikumar said the BJP is ready to put up the portraits of the personalities suggested by the Congress. In fact, the portraits of Basavanna, Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel were among those unveiled in the Assembly Hall, he said.