Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to remove Savarkar portrait from Belagavi Assembly: Report

The statue was installed by the previous Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in 2022 in Belagavi's Suvarna Soudha.

The Congress government in Karnataka decided to remove the portrait of Savarkar from Belagavi’s Suvarna Soudha, where winter assembly sessions are conducted, reported News18. The decision came after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that Savarkar, who the BJP widely celebrates, does not have any contribution towards the Indian freedom movement. The statue was installed by the previous Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in 2022.

The decision came after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that Savarkar, who the BJP widely celebrates, does not have any contribution towards the Indian freedom movement.

Savarkar grand son slams Congress party

Meanwhile, the grandson of Savarkar, Ranjit Savarkar slammed the Congress party for its decision to remove the statue. “The Congress party will pay heavily for insulting Savarkar in this way. These people celebrate Tipu Jayanti but bring down the greatness of a freedom fighter like Savarkar. When compared to Savarkar, what was the contribution of Nehru to the freedom movement?” he asked while speaking to News18.

In 2022, when the BJP government installed the portrait of Savarkar in the assembly, the Congress party, led by Siddaramaiah, staged a demonstration outside Suvarna Vidhana Soudha during the unveiling ceremony, protesting against the alleged unilateral decisions taken by the then BJP government. At the time, Siddaramaiah claimed that the demonstration was to demand the installation of portraits of national leaders and social reformers and that they were not protesting against any one portrait.

During the last winter assembly sessions, the party had plans to remove the portrait but it was not implemented. Speaking to reporters then, Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge said, “Anybody whose ideology incites hatred and creates division should not be there in assembly, if BJP finds it problematic, then it is their issue.”

However, CM Siddaramaiah said the speaker will decide on the move. “Whether to keep or remove the portrait will be left to the house speaker. He has the authority to decide on such things,” Siddaramaiah then said.

The opposition led by the BJP is likely to protest against the decision of Congress party as winter assembly sessions began on Monday.