BENGALURU: This legislator’s attempts at selfaggrandisement went “bust” after netizens slammed him, forcing him to make amends. The MLA from Congress, NA Haris, who represents the Shanthinagar constituency, courted a controversy after his bust was put up at a junction that was also named after him. Once it went viral, with netizens criticising the move, the bust was removed. The statue had been put up in front of Infant Jesus Church at Shanthinagar, and the pedestal had ‘NA Haris Circle’ inscribed on it.
The names of Haris and his son Muhammad Nalpad too were mentioned, while a flex banner was put up near Anepalya, announcing the inauguration of Haris Circle. It was in violation of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act, which states that any public property, including roads, junctions, circles, flyovers or underpasses, can be named after a proposal is placed before the BBMP Council. Once it is approved, it is sent to the urban development department for final approval.
In the absence of a Council, it had to be placed before the BBMP administrator which was not done. Also, the Act specifies that no road or public property can be named after a living person. “This is a clear violation of the KMC Act. We will take this to the party high command,” said a senior Congress leader. Though the bust was removed, the pedestal still exists, with Haris Circle written on it. Recently, Haris was also slammed for opposing the installation of Kannada thespian Rajkumar’s statue in his constituency. Despite repeated attempts, the MLA couldn’t be reached for comments.