Former Karnataka Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah of the Indian National Congress and H.D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular) have opposed the naming of a flyover in Yelahanka in Bengaluru after Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The flyover is slated to be inaugurated on May 28 by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to coincide with Savarkar's birthday and will be named 'Freedom Fighter Veer Savarkar Flyover'.
Siddaramaiah said on Twitter: "Naming the Yelahanka flyover after Savarkar is an insult to this land's freedom fighters.” Addressing Yediyurappa in his tweet, Siddaramaiah urged him to revoke this decision.
Kumaraswamy too expressed a similar sentiment on Twitter. “The State government’s decision to name the Yelahanka flyover after Savarkar is an insult to the people who struggled for the glory of this land,” he said.
The 400-metre-long, 17-metre-wide four-way flyover was constructed over the past three years at a cost of Rs.34 crore. Yelahanka MLA S.R. Vishwanath of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the decision to name the flyover after Veer Savarkar was taken in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council session on Feb. 29 and was passed unanimously by the councillors.
“There was no objection in the BBMP council when the decision was taken. Veer Savarkar is a national figure, a freedom fighter. All those who disagree with the decision to name the flyover after him need not use the flyover. They can use the road that runs beneath the flyover,” Vishwanath said while speaking to a Kannada television news channel.
With 101 corporators, the BJP is the current ruling party in the BBMP. The opposition leader in the council, Abdul Wajid of the Congress, said that the decision to name the flyover after Savarkar was not taken unanimously and was taken suo moto by the ruling party. “It was not discussed in the council. It was rushed through without being listed for discussion. We will protest in the council tomorrow,” he added.
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