“The government must rise above regional politics and make way for Viveka Memorial which will be the national pride and an attractive landmark for Mysuru.” — CPK

Mysuru: Authorities from Sri Ramakrishna Mission will go ahead with the construction of an imposing Viveka Memorial (Smaraka) or Swami Vivekananda Memorial Cultural Youth Centre to commemorate the visit of Swami  Vivekananda to Mysore in 1892.

The construction will begin soon as the Karnataka High Court recently cleared all hurdles by quashing the order issued by the Commissioner of Public Instruction that had asked the education department to continue the functioning of the New Type Model School (NTMS) on Narayana Shastri Road at its present location. The Commissioner had issued the order on May 31, 2014 following an oral instruction from Chief Minister Siddharamaiah.

Announcing this at a press conference at Pathrakarthara Bhavan in city this morning, President of Swami Vivekananda Memorial Cultural Youth Central Committee Prof. C.P. Krishnakumar (CPK) said that they would follow the High Court order and go ahead with the memorial construction. Former MLC D. Madegowda, Advocate Arunkumar and Advisor to Ramakrishna Ashrama N.S. Chakravarthy were present at the press conference.

Krishnakumar said that the Ramakrishna Ashrama had, in their petition (WP/24069/EDU/2014), contended that the order passed by the Commissioner prevented them from constructing the Viveka Memorial.

“Justice S. Sujatha of the High Court heard our petition and ruled in our favour. As per the Government Order issued on 09-01-2013, the NTMS land was to be handed over to the memorial for construction and the Court observed that the Commissioner, being a government servant, cannot pass an order that goes against the government order,” CPK explained.

“The court further said that the Commissioner’s order to continue NTMS at the same place is beyond his power and jurisdiction and as such it is illegal,”  he added.

“The government, at least now, must rise above regional politics and make way for the Viveka Memorial which will be the national pride and an attractive landmark for Mysuru. The court has already dismissed Public Interest Litigations twice and had also imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000. Also, the complaint against the Ashrama filed by Juvenile Justice Board has reached its logical end,” Krishnakumar said.

Former MLC D. Madegowda said that Mysureans need not worry about the NTM School as the students and teachers will be accommodated at the nearby Devaraja Urs Government Higher Primary School.

“We will ensure that the  NTM School is integrated to Devaraja Urs Government Higher Primary School. We are not here to promote enmity but our intention is to construct a remarkable memorial to Swami Vivekananda that will inspire the country’s youth,” Madegowda said.

 

Madegowda added that the Centre had allocated Rs. 5 crore for the memorial and Rs. 25 lakh has already come to the Ashrama’s account.

Providing the legal angle to the issue, Advocate Arunkumar said that the Ashrama has been paying taxes to the government ever since the Government Order was passed in 2013. “Continuing classes at NTM School, teachers continuing to teach there and parents continuing to send their children to the school amounts to contempt of court,” he said.

“When the High Court had ruled in our favour on June 13, 2017, there were conflicting reports in the media. We did not react to them as we did not have certified copies of the HC judgement. Now we have the order that clearly gives a go ahead to Ramakrishna Ashrama for memorial construction,” he added.

He urged the government to enable the Ashrama to take possession of the NTM land in a smooth and peaceful manner.