BENGALURU: Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai shared fond memories of his late father and former chief minister SR Bommai at the inauguration of the latter’s birth centenary celebrations and release of the coffee table book ‘The Radical Humanist’ published by The New Indian Express, here on Tuesday.
An emotional Bommai remembered how his father used to take him to school holding his hands. “Though he was a man of big stature outside, he was simple at home. He taught us basic lessons on the importance of equality while feeding us,” Bommai remembered.
The former chief minister said there was one similarity between his father and former CMs BS Yediyurappa and SM Krishna, who were present at the event. “The three achieved it big in politics without having any godfathers. They made it possible only through their struggles and hard work,” he said.
Opining that the same yardstick does not hold good to measure the achievements of leaders belonging to different periods, Bommai said some decisions taken by his father were relevant even today. “He would have continued in power if he had compromised with his principles, but he never did. He was a man who turned down the offer to become chief minister the second time, saying he has already seen it and made way for others,” Bommai said.
Basavaraj Bommai said he regarded Yediyurappa as his fatherly figure and ‘guru’ in his political career. It was Yediyurappa who identified his strengths, nourished him and took him to greater heights, he added.
Srimathi Gangamma Somappa Bommai Educational & Welfare Foundation has planned to hold four big events in Bommai’s birthplace, Hubballi, Bengaluru and Delhi as part of the birth centenary celebrations.