Karnataka: Along with BJP, statues planned to woo voters crumble as well
A Finance Department official says the statues are not a priority of the Congress government, meaning that needless money cannot be spent on them
The future seems bleak for a string of statues that were either installed or expected to come up across Karnataka when the state was ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP government, which erected at least some of them in a tearing hurry, had hoped the statues would induce different communities, as well as clans, to vote for it in the May 2023 Assembly elections.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority in the state rooted for the Congress, ending five years of BJP rule in its only southern bastion, putting a question mark on the future of the statues.
An official in the Finance Department now says the statues are not a priority of the new Congress government, meaning that needless money cannot be spent on them, including on their upkeep.
No wonder, the installation plans of dozens of statues and theme parks have been discontinued.
Statues galore
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has taken part in the inauguration of at least 15 statues since November 2022, including those of Kempe Gowda, who built modern Bengaluru, Goddess Bhuvaneshwari in Bengaluru, Lord Parashurama in Karkala (Dakshina Kannada district), former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Bengaluru, freedom fighter Kedambadi Ramaiah Gowda at Mangaluru, Shivaji in Belagavi, cinema star Rajkumar in Bengaluru, progressive Kannada poet Akka Mahadevi in Shivamogga, and Male Mahadeshwara in Chamarajanagar.
All these statues are connected to various communities, and the intention was clearly to grab votes by pandering to people’s emotions.
A 108-foot statue of Kempe Gowda, a Vokkaliga chieftain who built Bengaluru in the 15th century, was opened at the Bengaluru airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November.
The BJP did not invite Vokkaliga leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda or another Vokkaliga leader, DK Shivakumar, to the event.
One belongs to the Janata Dal (Secular), the other to the Congress.
The BJP called it the Statue of Prosperity. A theme park was also planned to reflect Kempe Gowda’s vision. But the park did not work out.
The Congress government is hardly taking any interest in the project. And the theme park remains incomplete.
Theme park
Former BJP minister Dr CN Ashwatha Narayana, the brain behind the statue, has urged chief minister Siddaramaiah to resume work on the theme park at the airport.
A statue of Male Mahadeshwara, revered by Dalits and OBCs, was unveiled on March 18 in Chamarajanagar. Lingayats also worship him.
The construction work of the statue started in March 2021 at a cost of about Rs 20 crore. To date, the road to the statue on Mahadeshwara Hill and the work on the museum at its base remain unfinished. Meanwhile, the retention wall has collapsed due to heavy rain.
Allegations of shoddy construction, too, dog the statue.
A bronze statue of Lord Parasurama (top) was installed at Umikal Hill in Karkala. The statue itself has disappeared; only the feet and legs remain (above)
A bronze statue of Lord Parasurama was installed at Umikal Hill in Karkala in the coastal district. A theme park was planned on 1.58 acres of government land. The park was inaugurated in a hurry before the elections. The charges now are that the park itself is illegal.
Though then BJP minister Sunil Kumar had announced a bronze statue would be unveiled, it is now said it is not fully bronze. There are even doubts its quality. The worst part is now statue itself has disappeared. Only the feet and legs remain.
Other statues
The erstwhile BJP government had also planned a statue of Basavanna, a 12th-century Lingayat social reformer, on the banks of the Ghataprabha river in Belagavi and in the Vidhana Soudha campus in Bengaluru. This was mainly meant to please Lingayat votes.
A statue of freedom fighter Kittura Chennam Rani (Lingayat) was to be erected within the Karnataka Assembly premises at Belagavi.
Other announcements were to build a statue of freedom fighter queen Belavadi Mallama (Nayak-ST), also in Belagavi; of Sangolli Rayanna at Belagavi (Kuruba votes); statue and theme park for queen Chennabhairadevi (Jain), who fought the Portuguese in the 15th century; statue and theme park of Rani Abbakka Chowta (Bunt community) and Koti Chennaya (Billava); and of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari in Bengaluru.
Former chief minister Bommai had announced Rs 5 crore to develop the birthplace of Allama Prabhu (Lingayat), a 12th-century saint, in Shivamogga district.
All these projects are stalled for the time being.
The BJP government had also announced the renovation of the popular Rama temple at Ramadevara Gudda, Ramanagar.
Lack of money
An IAS officer of the rank of Principal Secretary in the Finance Department, who did not want to be named, told The Federal that the present government has planned to stall statue projects.
“There are already complaints about some unscientific plans, and the departments concerned have no funds,” he said.
“The government is struggling to allot funds for its guarantee schemes as well as to the drought-hit areas. The statues are not a priority for the state,” he added.