Savarkar's portrait must be removed from Assembly: K'ntka minister

Bengaluru: Referring to the recently unveiled portrait of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar inside the Karnataka state assembly, state minister Priyank Kharge said that the portrait of a Hindutva ideologue must not be kept inside their assembly, Hindustan Times reported.

He said that anybody whose ideologies provoke hatred and create division must not be kept there. "If BJP finds it problematic, it is their problem," he told reporters.

During the previous government's regime, Savarkar's

life-size portrait was unveiled inside the Assembly chamber at the 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha'. The Congress protested this and alleged that the portrait was installed without their knowledge.

Now, there are speculations that the portrait might be removed, though Chief Minister Siddaramiah said that the Speaker will decide on it.

Savarkar's portrait was unveiled among a bunch of other famous personalities, including Swami Vivekananda, Subash Chandra Bose, B R Ambedkar, Basaveshwara, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, during the winter session of the state assembly last year.

When the portrait was unveiled last year, the Siddaramaih-led Congress staged a demonstration outside 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha' during the unveiling ceremony. They alleged that the BJP installed the portrait after taking a unilateral decision. However, he then claimed that the demonstration was to demand the installation of national leaders and social reformers, but not against any particular portrait.

Meanwhile, Speaker UT Khader stated on Sunday that there are discussions going on about installing the portrait of the first prime minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.