Bengaluru flyover named after Savarkar sparks row

Freedom fighter Veer Savarkar is back in the news and has, once again, resulted in a political row between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress. 

The BS Yediyurappa administration is all set to unveil a new flyover at Yelahanka in Bengaluru that will be named after Veer Savarkar. 

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city’s civic body, seems to have passed a resolution on naming the flyover after Veer Savarkar. The flyover, which has been constructed under the Nagarotthana scheme, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday. 

“The decision to name the Yelahanka flyover after VD Savarkar is an insult to freedom fighters of this land,” Leader of the Opposition, Siddaramaiah said and asked Yediyurappa to name the flyover after a freedom fighter hailing from Karnataka. 

“Naming the flyover after Savarkar is testament to the fact that the administration is not being run by an elected government, but those working behind the curtains,” Siddaramaiah charged. “Is this why you seek cooperation from the Opposition to make such anti-people decisions?” he asked Yediyurappa. 

Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) also attacked the government over this decision. “There are many who have toiled on this land before and after independence. This flyover could have been named after any one of them. Have we seen the name of a Karnataka freedom fighter being used in any other state?” he said. 

In the political sphere, opinions are divided on Veer Savarkar. While the BJP hails him as a patriot freedom fighter, the Congress has taken a stand that he was a right-wing ideologue linked to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier this year, some BJP leaders targeted veteran freedom fighter HS Doreswamy for reportedly criticising Savarkar. This led to a huge furore, with the Congress backing Doreswamy.