Mandya: Even as the State Government on Wednesday announced the Kannada Rajyotsava Award-2024, a couple of Congress leaders of Mandya district have appealed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Kannada & Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi to honour former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna with the prestigious ‘Karnataka Ratna’ Award, at a time when Mandya, the native district of the veteran leader, is hosting the Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana next month.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister and the Kannada & Culture Minister, Congress MLC Dinesh Gooligowda and Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority Vice-Chairman Venkataramanegowda (Star Chandru), said that Krishna is a veteran politician who had served in various posts.

Noting that the nonagenarian   has served the State for over five decades, they said that at a time when the State is celebrating the 69th Kannada Rajyotsava, Krishna must be decorated with the coveted honour of ‘Karnataka Ratna’ for all the services he has rendered to the State and the country, serving as a Chief Minister, Union Minister  and Governor.

Pointing out that Krishna hails from Mandya district, the two said that Krishna must be credited for Bengaluru coming to be known as the Silicon City and the IT-BT hub of the country.

Responding to the plea of Dinesh Gooligowda and Venkataramanegowda, Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi has asked the Department Secretary to submit a file in this regard.