Controversy has erupted over former Minister and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar laying the foundation for the installation of a statue of Jesus Christ at Kapalibetta in his constituency Kanakapura. While Mr. Shivakumar said the 10-acre land was sanctioned by the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy, several BJP leaders and Ministers have criticised him for his “appeasement politics”.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar alleged on Friday that Mr. Shivakumar was trying to “appease a section of the society and a Congress leader.”
“Mr. Shivakumar is an experienced person. He knows what to do at the right time, to please whomsoever under the right circumstances. But the local people are not supportive of it. They are very much upset,” the Minister said.
Replying to another question, the Minister said “appeasement and nurturing vote bank politics is the hallmark of the Congress.”
On the occasion of Christmas, Mr. Shivakumar handed over the documents relating to the land to the trust that will shoulder the responsibility of installing the statue. The statue will be made from hard granite, according to sources.
The BJP leaders alleged that Mr. Shivakumar was trying to please the Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and her family members. BJP Ministers K.S. Eshwarappa, BJP MLA M.P. Renukachayra and BJP MP Ananth Kumar Hegde hit out at Mr. Shivakumar on the issue.
Responding to these attacks, Mr. Shivakumar said he believed in “equality and religious tolerance” and that it was his duty to respect the faith of his constituents, who belong to all religions.
Mr. Shivakumar said he paid the cost of the land at Kapalibetta. “I paid the amount from my pocket. There is no controversy. There was a proposal to seek the land about two years ago. But Mr. Kumaraswamy supported me and sanctioned the land. Hundreds of temples of Rama, Shiva, Anjaneya have been built. I am not for publicity. I have donated 25 acres for construction of government schools, colleges, industrial training institutes in Kanakapura. I have done my job.”’
The Congress leader said there was no need for him to learn from people who attempted to destroy the Constitution of B.R. Ambedkar. On Ananth Kumar Hegde’s tweet calling him “slave of the INC president Sonia Gandhi”, Mr. Shivakumar said “Mr. Hegde is unemployed. They (BJP leaders) are jealous of my secular outlook.” The Congress leader also said that he had donated funds and lands for all religions.
Mr. Shivakumar said he had taken up other initiatives when he was in power, such as the formation of the Kempe Gowda Authority for which five acres of land in Bengaluru was sanctioned, declaration of a government holiday for Kempe Gowda Jayanti, and sanctioning of ₹25 crore each for the development of late Adichunchanagiri pontiff Balagangadharanatha Swami’s village Banandooru and late Siddaganga Mutt pontiff Shivakumara Swami’s village Magadi.
