Credit: Special Arrangement
Noted writer S G Siddaramaiah said on Sunday that former chief ministers S Bangarappa, D Devaraj Urs and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah were among leaders who listened to their conscience and implemented pro-people schemes.
This in an era when people’s representatives lose their credibility once they are elected to positions of power, but the three stalwarts stood out from the lot, he said.
The writer was addressing a symposium on S Bangarappa’s thoughts on the occasion of his 93rd birth anniversary organised by the S Bangarappa Foundation and Vichara Vedike at Sorab in the district.
“The socialist movement was not just an idea for Bangarappa. He implemented its ideals through a number of schemes. Among them were Ashraya, under which eight lakh beneficiaries got homes of their own in just six months, and the Vishwa scheme that aimed at decentralisation of power by setting up cottage industries,” he said.
The former chief minister was also the harbinger of the programme to provide free electricity to farmers’ irrigation pumpsets and the practice of giving grace marks for rural students, Siddaramaiah said.
“Bangarappa stood by his beliefs in public life and his policies were environment friendly,” the writer said.
Addressing the gathering, chairman of the Karnataka Nataka Akademi K V Nagaraja Murthy said, “Bangarappa was deeply influenced by the ideals of socialist leader Shantaveri Gopala Gowda. Socialist principles guided him throughout his life, not just when he was the chief minister. He was instrumental in the shifting of the power balance from the powerful to the oppressed classes”.
The former chief minister strove for the upliftment of the oppressed classes and his socialist thoughts were reflected in the five
guarantees implemented by the present government under Siddaramaiah, Murthy said.
Vedike president Venugopal Nayak, noted writer Kalegowda Nagawara and others were present.