Basava, Kempegowda statues to adorn Vidhana Soudha

BENGALURU: With the Assembly elections round the corner, the state government is installing statues of 12th-century social reformer Basavanna and Bengaluru founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda on the Vidhana Soudha premises. The government had earlier installed a 108-feet statue of Kempegowda at the Bengaluru international airport.

CM Basavaraj Bommai, accompanied by former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, ministers and seers, laid the foundation stone for the installation of 4-metre-high bronze statues of Basavanna and Kempegowda. The overall cost of this project is Rs 7 crore. Bommai said the statues will be installed in two months, and will usher in a new era in the state.

The inspiration of these two great personalities must echo in the Vidhana Soudha and across the state, and for this purpose, their statues are being installed, he said. The spiritual thinking and the governance of these two great personalities must flow across the state from the Vidhana Soudha, he said.

The CM said a strong foundation has been laid to build a new Karnataka for the welfare of all and that work has already started. The state cabinet has decided to install the statues in front of Vidhana Soudha and then took permission from the presiding officers of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, Visveshwara Hegde Kageri and Basavaraj Horatti, respectively. The work was entrusted to Revenue Minister R Ashoka, the CM said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the unveiling of the statue of Kempegowda at the Bengaluru airport.