The laying of the foundation stone for installing a mega statue of Jesus Christ by Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar in his Assembly constituency of Kanakapura has triggered a war of words between him and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders who accused him of indulging in “appeasement politics”.
Interestingly, the episode has unfolded just when speculations are rife that Mr. Shivakumar may get the Congress State chief’s post. BJP leaders have accused him of resorting to this to please Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Takes a dig
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa took to Twitter to take a dig at Mr. Shivakumar by saying that those opposing the construction of Ram temple were laying the foundation for the statue of Jesus.
Later, interacting with mediapersons in Mangaluru, he wondered, “Why Mr. Shivakumar did not come forward to build the statutes of other visionaries such as Bengaluru founder Kempe Gowda and late Balagangadharanatha Swami of Adichunchanagiri Mutt.”
‘For votes’
He said he would welcome the move provided if it was for spreading the message of peace and love for which the Christ stood for. “But the Congress leader’s intention appears to be getting Christian votes,” he alleged.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar on Friday said that for “appeasing a section of society and a Congress leader”, Mr. Shivakumar had laid the foundation stone for installing the statue at Kapalibetta. “Mr. Shivakumar is an experienced person. He knows what do at what time and whom to please under what circumstances. But the local people are not supporting it. They are very much upset,” the Minister claimed.
Tourism Minister C.T. Ravi and former Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde too took Twitter to ridicule Mr. Shivakumar.
Counter-attack
Reacting sharply to the criticism from State BJP leaders, Mr. Shivakumar said, “I have built hundreds of temples of Rama, Shiva, and Anjaneya. I am not for publicity. I have donated 25 acres of land for construction of government schools, colleges, and industrial training institutes in Kanakapura.”
Launching a counter-attack, he said, “There is no need to learn any lessons from people who attempted to destroy the Constitution drafted by B.R. Ambedkar.”
“I started my career in a Christian institution. About 95% of the people have supported me. I have done my job,” he said.
In a tweet, Mr. Shivakumar said he had taken many other initiatives when he was in power, such as formation of the Kempe Gowda Authority for which five acres of land in Bengaluru was sanctioned; declaration of government holiday for Kempe Gowda Jayanti; and sanctioning ₹25 crore each for the development of the late Balagangadharanatha Swami’s village, Banandooru, in Bidadi and the village of the late Shivakumar Swami of Siddaganga Mutt in Magadi.
‘Gomal land’
BJP State general secretary and MLC N. Ravikumar alleged that Mr. Shivakumar was getting the statue installed on gomal land and shot off a letter to Law Minister J.C. Madhuswamy, appealing to him to stop the installation.
Mr. Shivakumar said the 10-acre land on which the statue would come up at Kapalibetta had been sanctioned by the erstwhile H.D. Kumaraswamy government and he had paid for the land.
