Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai defends govt ad, says he's committed to RSS ideology

The state government’s advertisement in which Nehru’s representation is confined to a line art and the inclusion of Veer Savarkar had angered the Congress

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said he is “proud to be committed” to the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) even as he defended his government’s Independence Day advertisement that sidelines Jawaharlal Nehru.

“Someone said Bommai is slave of RSS. I say I've bowed down to that ideology, principle and patriotism. I'm proud to be committed to building the nation on the back of this ideology,” Bommai said, referring to Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s Sunday tweet accusing him of being an RSS slave.

Bommai was speaking at the ‘Amruta Bharatige Karunada Jatre’ event organised by the BJP.

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The state government’s advertisement in which Nehru’s representation is confined to a line art and the inclusion of Veer Savarkar angered the Congress on Sunday.

“Our government’s ad recognised so many freedom fighters from Karnataka - Mailara Mahadevappa, Sahukar Chennaiah, Changal Reddy...no one had recognised their work, which we did in our ad. But, no one had a good thing to say about this. Instead, they felt disappointed that one of their leaders was left out,” Bommai said.

Bommai said the country was run for 65 years in Nehru’s name. “We haven’t forgotten him or his works. We have respect for Nehru. That’s why his photo is there in the ad,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown respect to all his predecessors with a museum for them.

According to Bommai, the 75th year of India’s independence must be dedicated to “anonymous sacrifices” whose names have been left out. “Time has come to speak the truth and for people to understand the truth,” he said. “Freedom came with the sacrifice of thousands of youngsters, farmers, labourers, activists...their names are nowhere. In Bengaluru alone, 25 people died. Where are their names?” he said.

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Citing the example of Narayan Doni, Bommai said: “Have you heard his name? No, because historians didn’t write it. He was a 12-year-old from Hubballi who was killed with British bullets for saying Vande Mataram.”

Bommai lamented that there was a competition to claim credit for India’s independence. “Anonymous people are responsible for it. They were led by Lokamanya Tilak, Veer Savarkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Subash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Lala Lajpat Rai, Tatya Tope, Kittur Chennamma, Rayanna and Jhansi Laxmi Bai. After independence, it was Sardar Patel who unified India,” he said.

Further, Bommai said BJP is the only party that shows "real patriotism."