BENGALURU: After its inauguration in May was postponed due to protests and the Covid-19 pandemic, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday inaugurated the ‘Veer Savarkar’ flyover in Yelahanka. Ahead of the inaugural ceremony, dozens of JDS workers who had threatened to protest against naming the flyover after Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, were taken into preventive custody.
Members of various pro-Kannada groups also questioned the government’s decision to name the flyover after someone from Maharashtra instead of someone from Karnataka. This controversy comes at a time when the state hasn’t yet steered clear of the controversy in Belagavi over installing statues of Chatrapathi Shivaji and Sangolli Rayanna.
“I was picked up by the police early in the morning from my home. We had announced a protest at the inauguration venue, but dozens of us JDS workers were taken into custody,” said Praveen Kumar, president, JDS youth wing. Kumar was taken to Yelahanka New Town police station, while other JDS workers were detained at a private resort.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had decided to name the flyover after Savarkar in February. Even though the BBMP maintained that due process was followed while taking up the proposal in the Council, and that public opinion was sought while selecting a name, Opposition parties accused the government of insulting freedom fighters from Karnataka by choosing Savarkar’s name. “Dictatorial behaviour by the state government for arresting our JDS Bengaluru district youth wing president and denying the right to peacefully protest against naming a flyover after Savarkar, is unacceptable,” the JDS wrote in a social media statement.