Basavanna portrait to be unveiled in Council

 The State Legislative Council will have a portrait of social reformer Basavanna. A decision in this regard has been taken ‘informally’ by the presiding officer of the House.

The decision to instal a portrait of Dr B R Ambedkar was taken by passing a resolution in the council recently. The House already has five portraits – that of Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Swami Vivekananda, Sir M Visvesvaraya and Subhas Chandra Bose.

While the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi is at the centre, two portraits each have been hung on its left and right side. Adding the Ambedkar’s portrait would create corresponding  space on the other side. Hence, around Rs 40,000 was spent to fill this space.

The two new portraits, created by artist Shankar Chintamani, Bengaluru, would be unveiled by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday, the first day of the commencement of the winter session of the legislature.

Council Chairman D H Shankarmurthy, while conceding the fact that an informal decision was taken to have a Basavanna’s portrait, said, “We felt that the empty space on the other side would look odd. So, an informal decision was taken to make it look symmetrical,” he said. Asked whether this wouldn’t lead to demand for installation of portraits of other leaders, he said, “When such demands come up, we will look into it them.”

When his reaction was sought by this newspaper, Congress MLC V S Ugrappa said he was unaware if the procedures were followed. “If the portrait was not installed in accordance with the rules of the House, then it will set a wrong precedent. There could be a demand for portraits of other leaders, too,” he said.

He pointed out that in parliament, only the Central Hall was adorned with portraits/ photos of various leaders and not the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. Similarly, portraits could be installed in the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha, he said.

Former Legislative Council chairman V R Sudarshan said the move may lead to further demands. A policy should be evolved to take decisions on such matters, he added.

He said it was not enough to put up portraits of leaders on the wall. Implementation of their ideals is what’s important.

Former Council chairman B K Chandrashekar said this move may lead to further “parochial” demands. “I’m surprised that installing portraits has become a priority. Is it worthy of a legislature to instal another portrait for symmetrical purpose? This way, the entire House will be cluttered. There should be a standard format to decide the criteria for selection of portraits, if at all there is such a need,” he said.