Mysuru, Oct. 27 – MLC A.H. Vishwanath has urged the Government to unveil the statue of late former Chief Minister of Karnataka D. Devaraj Urs in front of the new Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) Office on Bannur Road, Siddarthanagar in the city on Nov. 1.

Addressing a press meet at Jaladarshini Guest House here this morning, Vishwanath said that the previous BJP Government headed by B.S. Yediyurappa had sanctioned Rs. 92 lakh for the installation of the statue. The work on the statue began when Raghu Kautilya was the Chairman of Karnataka Backward Classes Commission during BJP rule in the State. But even after a couple of years since then, the statue is yet to be installed, he regretted.

Pointing out that it was Devaraj Urs, as the Chief Minister then, who renamed Mysore State as Karnataka State on Nov. 1, 1973, the MLC said that as such, the State Government should unveil the statue of Devaraj Urs in front of the Mysuru DC Office in Siddarthanagar on Nov.1, marking Kannada Rajyotsava. If not, the MP, MLAs and other elected representatives will themselves unveil the statue on Nov. 1, he warned.

Stating that the over century old DC Office building along Hunsur Road has been lying under a state of neglect, Vishwanath lamented the poor maintenance of the heritage structure and demanded that the State Government take immediate measures for proper conservation of all heritage structures in the city.

State BJP OBC Morcha President Raghu Kautilya, who also addressed the press meet, said that the statue of Devaraj Urs should be unveiled on Nov.1 as it is timely to coincide with Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations. As the first Chief Minister from the backward classes in the State, Urs is remembered as a reformer who established the Backward Classes Welfare Department and is considered a “voice of the voiceless.”

Pointing out that it was Yediyurappa as the CM, who first sanctioned money for the statue, he wondered what jealousy CM Siddaramaiah has towards Devaraj Urs, a champion of backward classes, social justice and the oppressed and a key figure in the upliftment of the marginalised in Karnataka.