Bengaluru, Feb 14: Glowing tributes were paid to eminent playback singer and Bharat Ratna awardee Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away recently, along with others in the Karnataka assembly on Monday.

Speaking in the assembly, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said words fall short to portray Lataji's personality.

"Lata Mangeshkar was a special creation of God. The purity of Saraswati flowed through her voice. She would give life to the lyrics with her scintillating voice in a way that the song would remain etched in the memory forever," Bommai said.

In his tribute to Mangeshkar, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah said the Bharat Ratna recipient was an unparalleled singer who had become a living legend by singing over 30,000 songs.

She sang over 10,000 Hindi songs and lent her voice for songs in 36 different languages, Siddaramaiah said.

Hailing the emotions that Mangeshkar would pour into her songs, the former chief minister said 'Aye Mere Vatan Ke Logon', which was a tribute to the soldiers who died during the 1962 Sino-India war, had brought tears to the eyes of then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.

The assembly also paid tributes to former minister and former chief secretary J Alexander, former MLA M M Sajjan, former minister H B Patil, Prof Chandrashekhar Patil, religious orator Ibrahim Sutar and Justice K L Manjunath.

After the homage, the assembly was adjourned for the day.

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Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.

In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.

Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.

Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.

According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.

He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.

He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.

Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.

He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.

Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.

He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.