He was speaking after inaugurating the art exhibition as part of Zilla Utsav on Wednesday.

Throughout his speech, he criticised the officials and politicians for their cultural bankruptcy and hypocrisy in their approach to art. Art forms cannot be developed from such authorities who attend functions just for the sake of it, he stated.  

Condemning the act of taking leave when a cultural programme is going on, he said  that, it shows the authorities’ indecent behaviour. It is the duty of the authorities to stay back and listen to what the artistes say so that they can work towards providing facilities to them and also help in the growth of art, he added.

Without the enrichment of cultural field, there cannot be development in the society, he said, while adding that only those who are genuinely interested in art should watch it and making them watch forcefully cannot serve the purpose, Krishna Shetty added. Most of the artistes have acquired reputation and recognition at national and international levels, but they are not recognised at local levels , which shows ignorance on the part of authorities regarding art. Organising art exhibitions will help rural talents come forward, he added. As many as 100 paintings were at display at the exhibition from various teachers, students across various art schools in the district.