Defying the myth that those who visit Virupaksha Temple in Hampi would lose power, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah flagged off Karnataka Sambhrama – 50, the year-long celebration of renaming the State as Karnataka, after visiting the Virupaksha Temple in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi and paying his respect to the god on Thursday.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also performed a special puja to the god Virupaksha to indicate the need to discard superstitions. He lit the lamp that former Chief Minister Devaraj Urs had lit 50 years ago in the same place to mark the renaming of the State as Karnataka on the same day 50 years ago.
“The lamp that we have lit today would illuminate the conscience of the Kannada consciousness in the future. Ever since I became the first president of Kannada Kavalu Samithi in 1983, I never compromised with the vested interests in the matters of Kannada’s land, water, language and its culture,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said adding his government’s commitment to bring back the glory of Vijayanagara Empire in Karnataka.
