Savarkar, Patel portraits unveiled in Belagavi’s Suvarna Vidhana Soudha amid protest

Bangalore, 19/12: Seven life-size portraits, including that of Hindu nationalist V D Savarkar, were unveiled in the Assembly hall of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha on Monday.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, along with Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, unveiled the portraits even as the Congress staged a protest demanding the installation of photos of its own list of personalities.

The Assembly hall of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha now has the portraits of Swami Vivekananda, Subhash Chandra Bose, and B R Ambedkar to the Speaker’s right-hand side behind his seat. Above the Speaker’s seat is a portrait of Basavanna. To the Speaker’s left are portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel and V D Savarkar.

The political messaging in the choice of the seven portraits is obvious: a potent mix of Hindutva (Vivekananda and Savarkar), nationalism (Bose and Patel) and social justice (Basavanna and Ambedkar). Basavanna also happens to be revered by Lingayats, the BJP’s core support base.