Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday inaugurated a flyover in the city after freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar, despite opposition from the Congress and JD(S) to name it after him.
The 400 metre long flyover, constructed at a cost of Rs 34 core by city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, is on the Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road at Yelahanka.
Speaking after inaugurating the flyover, Yediyurappa said Savarkar sacrificed his entire life for the freedom of India.
It was apt to name the flyover after Savarkar, a "great patriot", the Chief Minister said, as he noted that his government was giving priority for the all round development of all cities in the state, including Bengaluru.
The flyover was earlier scheduled to be inaugurated on May 28 on Savarkar's birthday. However, the government had postponed it at the last minute, citing COVID-19 related restrictions in place. Both Congress and JD(S) flayed the move to name the flyover after Savarkar.
Alleging that the BJP government in Karnataka did not show any interest regarding the Sangolli Rayanna (18th century warrior and freedom fighter) statue in Belagavi district until there was a public movement for it, the state Congress in a tweet said, "It was shameful and an act of treason to name the flyover at Yelahanka after Savarkar, who was accused of being involved in Gandhi's killing."
JD(S) too, pointing at issues that had cropped up against installing the Sangolli Rayanna statue at Belagavi, said that in such a situation, it was against the move to name a public flyover after Savarkar, who does not have any connection with Karnataka.
Accusing the BJP government of adopting an "anti-state policy" from the day it came to power, JD(S) said the move to name the flyover after Savarkar too was an extended part of this policy and demanded to know why it had not got it named after any esteemed personality in the state.
JD(S) youth wing had planned a protest against the naming of the flyover, but were not given permission by police and its leaders were detained.
Earlier in May too, Congress and JD(S) had opposed the move and termed it as an 'insult' to freedom fighters of the state.
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Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday claimed that the ongoing power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar has created massive confusion in Karnataka.
He remarked that the proverb “when two people fight, the third one benefits” has come true, as AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is also now making efforts to become Chief Minister.
Speaking to reporters here, Ashoka said the entire government has turned into a house of confusion due to the alleged power tussle.
Kharge’s new statement has only added to the chaos, he said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had on Friday said that no date has been fixed yet to discuss possible leadership change in Karnataka.
This came a day after Kharge said there was no change of CM in Karnataka "for now" and that the leadership issue in the state would be resolved soon.
The BJP leader said that Kharge too has aspirations and that he was cheated earlier.
"Perhaps he has received a green signal from the Congress high command to become CM. Everyone is already saying Kharge should become CM. Kharge himself has declared, “I am ready to become CM.” Despite many attempts in the past, he never became CM. Now he is trying to seize the opportunity," the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly said.
According to him, the situation in Congress has perfectly become a case of “two people fighting, third one benefits.”
