Bengaluru|Dec.19 : The Karnataka BJP government’s move to put up Veer Savarkar’s portrait inside the state assembly has triggered opposition protests on the steps outside the assembly building.
Congress leader Siddaramaiah, leader of Opposition, led a protest and questioned the need to feature a controversial figure in the Karnataka assembly. This is the latest in a series of controversies over Veer Savarkar in Karnataka ahead of the 2023 state election.
As part of a State-wide campaign to create awareness about Veer Savarkar, the BJP has gone one step further by displaying the Hindutva ideologue’s portrait. Veer Savarkar also has a connection with Belagavi, the epicentre of a border dispute between Karnataka and neighbouring Maharashtra.
Savarkar was kept under preventive detention in the Hindalga central prison in Belagavi for four months in 1950. The arrest order was issued in Mumbai and he was arrested as he arrived in Belagavi. He was kept under preventive detention to stop him protesting against the Delhi visit of Liaqat Ali Khan, former Pakistan Prime Minister.
Savarkar was released after his family members filed a petition. He also filed an affidavit before the Bombay High court promising to abstain from political activities. Belagavi is also the venue of the last winter session of the Basavaraj Bommai-led Karnataka government before the state election. The 10-day session is likely to be dominated by the border dispute. The district administration has banned Shiv Sena MP Dhairyasheel Mane from entering Belagavi. Dhairyasheel Mane, a Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra.
