Mangaluru (Karnataka), Sept 18 (IANS): Minister for Minor Irrigation, Ajay Singh, on Friday said the removal of a nine-foot statue of former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Kalaburagi was carried out as the statue had been installed without the required permission, and there was no political angle to the development.
It can be noted that another statue of Siddaramaiah installed at the same location around three years ago had been removed as well by the authorities at that time.
Minister Ajay Singh hails from Kalaburagi district and he is the son of former chief minister N. Dharam Singh.
Speaking to reporters, Ajay Singh said, “There are rules for installing any statue. The Siddaramaiah statue was removed for this reason. There is no connection between Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s visit to Kalaburagi and the removal of the statue.”
He said Shivakumar had repeatedly maintained that Siddaramaiah was their leader and dismissed speculation linking the statue’s removal to the Chief Minister’s visit.
Ajay Singh also said neither Siddaramaiah nor Shivakumar knew about the installation of the statue.
“There is no confusion regarding this matter. The statue was installed without permission and was removed as per the rules,” he said.
It can be noted that a nine-foot statue of Siddaramaiah was installed overnight at High Court Circle in Kalaburagi by his supporters. The Kalaburagi City Corporation subsequently removed the statue on Thursday amid tight police security after officials found that the required permission had not been obtained from the district administration or the city corporation.
According to officials, around eight to 10 people, including members of the Kuruba community, were involved in installing the statue. The group had reportedly been demanding that High Court Circle be named after Siddaramaiah.
The same group had reportedly installed a Siddaramaiah statue at the location around three years ago. Authorities had removed it at that time as well.
The latest installation took place along the route taken by Shivakumar during his visit to Kalaburagi and his onward journey to the Ganagapura temple, leading to speculation over the timing of the move.
However, officials maintained that the statue was removed solely because it had been installed without the necessary permission.
Police were deployed at the spot during the removal to prevent any law-and-order issues.
