Savarkar portrait unveiled in Karnataka Assembly

Belagavi: Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's life size portrait was unveiled inside the Assembly chamber at the 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha' here, along with several national icons, drawing criticism from opposition Congress, which alleged that it was a unilateral decision, keeping them in the dark.

The portraits of Swami Vivekananda, Subash Chandra Bose, B R Ambedkar, Basaveshwara, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Savarkar were unveiled by Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, inside the Assembly chamber, just before the commencement of the 10-day winter session of the state legislature in this border district.

Earlier, the Congress led by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah and party's state President D K Shivakumar staged a demonstration outside 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha' holding pictures of several national and state icons like Kuvempu, Narayana Guru, Shishunala Sharif, Pandit Jwaharlal Nehru, Babu Jagjivan Ram among others.

Stating that it is his party's demand that portraits of national leaders and social reformers should be installed in the Assembly and they are not protesting against any one portrait, Siddaramaiah said without any discussions or consultation unilaterally decisions have been taken to install certain portraits inside the House. "If any portrait has to be put inside the Assembly, the House has to be taken into confidence as they become the property of the Assembly, though the Speaker is the custodian. It has not been done, it was not even discussed in the Business Advisory Committee," he said.