Row over naming Bengaluru city's flyover after Veer Savarkar
Bengaluru: The Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka have opposed the move to name a flyover in the city after Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar, and termed it as an insult to freedom fighters of the state.
The 400 metre long flyover, which according to sources have been constructed at a cost of Rs 34 core, is scheduled to be inaugurated by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday, which happens to be Savarkar's birthday.
Leader of Opposition and Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah termed the move to name the flyover after Savarkar as an insult to freedom fighters from Karnataka's soil and urged Yediyurappa to drop it and instead name it after a freedom fighter from the state.
In a tweet, he said "The hasty decision to name Yelahanka flyover after Savarkar is an evidence to say that the administration is not run by an elected government, but by those behind the screen.
Chief Minister are you seeking opposition cooperation for such anti-people decisions?"
Another former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said the decision was an insult to those who fought for the prosperity of the state and it was not right on the part of the government to do so.
"There are several eminent personalities who fought for the development and welfare of the state both before and after independence, flyover could have been named after them.
Have other states named things after freedom fighters from the state? I urge the state government on behalf of the people to step back from the decision," he tweeted.
According to sources, the decision to name the flyover at Yelahanka after Veer Savarkar was taken at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (city civic body) council meeting on February 29.
Defending the move, Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath, who is also the political secretary to Chief Minister said, there was nothing wrong in naming the flyover after a freedom fighter who was jailed and suffered punishment at Kala Pani (erstwhile Andaman jail) punishment for the sake of the country.
He said legally as per rules BBMP council has approved it and all formalities have been completed and only after that the naming has been planned.
Vishwanath termed the attempt to create controversy over naming the flyover after Savarkar as insult to freedom fighters, adding that several projects and bridges in his constituency have been named after eminent personalities of the state and the county and this was one such move.
Rejecting his contention, Congress said naming of the bridge after Savarkar was taken, despite opposition, and questioned Savarkar's contribution to Karnataka and Bengaluru.
The Congress and other opposition parties had earlier vehemently opposed the move to confer Bharat Ratna on Savarkar, posthumously.
While the BJP counts on his contribution to India's freedom movement and calls him a "great patriot", the Congress and other opposition parties have long shunned him for his alleged link to Mahatma Gandhi's assassin.
He was acquitted of the charge but his hardline Hindutva views long made him a pariah for the secular establishment.
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18-year-old graphic designer arrested for theft; says he lost job due to AI
Indore (PTI): An 18-year-old graphic designer, who claimed to have lost his job due to AI, was arrested with his NEET-aspirant woman friend on Thursday for allegedly stealing jewelry worth Rs 16 lakh.
The teen duo told police that they were inspired by the 2005 film Bunti Aur Babli, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shrikrishna Lalchandani.
They allegedly stole gold, silver, and diamond jewelry worth Rs 16.17 lakh from a shop in Rau police station area in the city on the night of December 22, the official told reporters.
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The entire booty was recovered from their possession after the arrest in Bhopal where they had fled.
Without disclosing the identities of the accused, DCP Lalchandani said, "Both are 18 years old. The young man is a graphic designer, while the woman is preparing for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). The two have known each other since childhood.
"During interrogation, the young man told us that he used to work part-time as a graphic designer at an IT company, but lost his job due to the company's adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and he was finding it difficult to make ends meet," the official added.
The accused, who come from economically weak background, claimed to have planned the theft after watching "Bunty Aur Babli," he said.
"The accused say they tried to sell the stolen jewelry, but the buyers, thinking they were children, wouldn't pay the right price. So they had decided to sell it after Christmas holidays," the DCP said.
