The foundation stone for a statue of former Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs was laid in the premises of the new Deputy Commissioner’s office in Mysuru on Monday.
Former Ministers A.H. Vishwanath and Tanveer Sait, besides Congress leader Suraj Hegde, who is also the grandson of Mr. Urs, were among the dignitaries present when the foundation stone was laid.
The State government had given its administrative approval for installation of a statue of the late former Chief Minister and has released ₹92 lakh for the purpose through the Department of Kannada and Culture. The statue is expected to be around 12 ft tall installed on a 8 ft high pedestal.
Mr. Vishwanath, who spoke on the occasion, recalled his growth as a politician under Mr. Urs. “I was barely 28 years old when Mr. Urs gave me the party ticket to contest from K.R. Nagar assembly contest and made me an MLA. I will remain indebted to him for life,” he said before pointing out that Mr. Urs gave emphasis to youth by ensuring the victory of more than 70 Congress MLAs, who were under 30 years of age.
He said many veteran leaders of today like M. Mallikarju Kharge, M. Veerappa Moily, and Janardhan Poojary had all grown under the shadow of Mr. Urs.
Mr. Vishwanath also credited Mr. Urs and the Congress for laying the foundation for the concept of social justice. Not only did Mr. Urs give away 21 lakh acres of land to the tillers, but also established hostels for backward classes, Dalits, minorities, and others.
Former Minister Tanveer Sait said the demand for installing a statute in memory of Mr. Urs was pending for a long time. Though a road in the heart of Mysuru was named after Mr. Urs in 1978, the demand for installing his statue at a circle near Maharani’s college could not materialise.
Mr. Urs entered the history books through his efforts to establish equality in society. It would be an apt way of paying a tribute to him if successive regimes meticulously followed the programmes he started.
Minister for Social Welfare H.C. Mahadevappa, who is also the Minister in charge of Mysuru district, sent his message for the occasion that was read out by Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra.
In his message, Mr. Mahadevappa recalled Mr. Urs’s contribution to enacting pieces of legislation on abolition of bonded labour and night soil, besides land for tillers and implementation of L.G. Havanur Committee report on reservation for backward classes, and said it was during his regime that the erstwhile Mysore State was renamed as Karnataka on November 1, 1973.
The Congress government under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had decided to install a statue of Mr. Urs to mark 50 years of Karnataka’s naming.
Though Mr. Mahadevappa was not present on the occasion, Mr. Rajendra said the Minister had held discussions with the officials and other members of the statue installation committee and issued necessary directions to the district administration on the programme.
The foundation stone laying ceremony was held amid rituals performed by leaders of various religions.
