Kempegowda statue at Vidhana Soudha by next year: CM Bommai

A dance drama performance during the event. DH Photo/Ranju P

By this time next year, the government will install a statue of Bengaluru founder Kempegowda on the premises of Vidhana Soudha, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Monday.

He said this during an event to commemorate the 513th birth anniversary (Jayanti) of Kempegowda. That a statue of Kempegowda should come up on the premises of the state secretariat was a demand made by seers of Adichunchanagiri and Spatikapuri mutts.

Bommai promised that necessary steps will be taken to install the statue in time for Kempegowda Jayanti next year.

The chief minister recalled a resolution passed by the Bengaluru civic body in 2001.

“I don’t know why it is delayed. But by next year’s Kempegowda Jayanti celebrations, we will install statue on the premises of Vidhana Soudha,” he said. The government is already installing a 108-foot-tall Kempegowda statue near the city’s airport in Devanahalli.

“It is likely to be unveiled in October and the government is keen on inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unveil the statue,” Bommai said.

Bommai conferred the inaugural Kempegowda international awards on veteran politician S M Krishna, Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and badminton ace Prakash Padukone.

After receiving the award, Krishna said he would donate the Rs 5-lakh cash prize to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Mysuru.