Mysore/Mysuru: Senior writer Prof. K.S. Bhagawan has urged the Government to install the statue of former Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs in Mysuru before his (Urs) next birth anniversary on Aug.20,2021.

He was speaking at a seminar on the thoughts of D. Devaraj Urs, organised jointly by D. Devaraj Urs Prathime Prathistapana Samithi and Mysuru City and District Congress at Congress Bhavan near the City Railway station here on Tuesday.

Noting that the statue of Devaraj Urs cannot be found anywhere in the State, Prof.Bhagawan said that all efforts will be made for the installation of the statue of the late Chief Minister, who is a native of Mysuru district.

Pointing out that it has been proposed to install the statue of Devaraj Urs at the junction of Devaraj Urs Road and Maharani’s Science College on JLB Road, he said that a memorandum has been submitted in this regard to the District Minister, who has responded positively.

Stating that the statue of the former Chief Minister should come up in the city at the earliest, he reiterated that he will press the Government for installing the statue before the next birth anniversary of Urs that falls on Aug. 20, 2021. Recalling the  relentless efforts made by the former CM for the upliftment of backward classes and micro-communities, he said that Urs was a national personality and the installation of his statue will be a small gratitude for him.

Maintaining that Devaraj Urs was a voracious reader and had a good collection of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s works at his home, Prof. Bhagawan regretted that most of the current crop of politicians do not have reading habit and this has rendered building a new and informed society difficult. Recalling the concerns that the late Chief Minister had for the poor, he said that Urs should be credited for the birth of a new era in Karnataka.

Referring to Anti-Cow Slaughter Bill, Prof. Bhagawan observed that our farmers and the rural folk always think in practical terms. Pointing out that farmers are not the ones who get carried away emotionally, he said that a farmer knows the hardship of taking care of aged and sick cows. 

Maintaining that those who have not reared cattle in their lifetime are now raising their voice for introducing Anti-Cow Slaughter Bill, he said that the farmer knows better than anyone else in this world on the hardships of taking care of useless and sick cattle.

Senior Congress leader and former Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd., Chairman H.A. Venkatesh in his address, said that the initiatives launched by Devaraj Urs awakened the poor and the downtrodden. Asserting that the Land Reforms Act introduced by Urs was a revolutionary step, he said that the Act helped over 7.50 lakh agricultural labourers become land owners. 

Noting that the 1970s was widely known as the era of Devaraj Urs, he said that Urs always stood for the cause of farmers and the oppressed sections of the society. 

Earlier, floral tributes were offered to the portrait of D. Devaraj Urs.

District Congress President Dr. B.J. Vijaykumar, Chutuku Sahitya Parishat’s Dr. M.G.R. Urs, former Health Department Director Dr. D. Thimmaiah, Kannada Sahitya Kalakoota President M. Chandrashekar, Urs Prathime Pratishtapana Samithi President Zakir Hussain, Convenor Dairy Venkatesh, Prof. Shabana, Maddikere Gopal, Ursu Mahasabha President Nandish Urs and others were present on the occasion.