BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said it is impossible to kill the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, and called upon people to defeat the BJP’s conspiracy to turn the Mahatma’s India into Godse’s India.
At a ‘Gandhi Bharat’ programme organised at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the CM attacked the opposition BJP, saying Nathuram Godse is the standard-bearer of the saffron party.
“Gandhi is the soul of India. The consciousness of India. Godse should not be allowed to grow here. Society should not be allowed to be divided in the name of religion or caste,” he said, stressing that communal forces should be defeated.
In the Belagavi session, Gandhi gave a message emphasising on Hindu-Muslim unity, Swaraj and Sarvodaya, the CM said adding that these are the principles and programme of the Congress.
Slamming the BJP, Siddaramaiah said, “We implemented the guarantees for the prosperity of all castes, races and religions, but the BJP is spreading misinformation against these populist programmes, and insulting the beneficiaries.”
Meanwhile, at the Gandhi Jayanti celebration at Vidhana Soudha, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said Gandhi was a champion of peace and a great leader who taught the mantra of peace to the entire world.
The CM, DyCM and others took a pledge for a clean and green Bengaluru as part of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s initiative to mark the celebration. Around 800 students also took pledges with the state leaders at Vidhana Soudha.
Shivakumar also carried a torch and took part in ‘Gandhi Nadige’, a walk on Queen’s Road and MG Road to spread Gandhi’s ideas.
At a book release event organised by Jagrutha Karnataka and Harshini Prakashana, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said Godse, who killed Gandhi, was influenced by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s ideas.
“It is an alarming development that we have doubts whether Savarkar’s ideas are winning over Gandhi’s today,” said Rao, adding that Savarkar was from the Brahmin community, but was a meat eater who advocated non-vegetarianism.
“Savarkar looks modernist in a way, but there is no doubt that he was a fundamentalist. Fundamentalism is not Indian culture. It came from Europe and Savarkar was influenced by it. But Gandhi is a vegetarian and he has great faith in our culture and traditions,” said Rao.
BBMP Administrator SR Umashankar and BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath offered floral tributes to the Gandhi Statue on MG Road. As part of the celebration, inter-faith programmes like recitations from the Gita, Bible and Quran were held.
At Raj Bhavan, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot paid tribute to the Father of the Nation by garlanding his statue and offering flowers in a heartfelt homage.