HASSAN: The missing portrait of former Prime Minister and JDS Supremo HD Deve Gowda in the chamber of the president of the City Municipal Council led to an all-out tussle between JDS and BJP councillors at the CMC general meeting on Thursday.
For over 40 minutes, the councillors traded barbs against each other, resulting in CMC president R Mohan, from the BJP, adjourning the meeting twice. Raising the issue, Syed Akbar and C R Shankar, former CMC presidents from the JDS, and party member Girish took the president to task for “deliberately” removing the portrait of Gowda that was in the chamber for decades.
They contended that the portrait of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was still in the same place. Some JDS members also blamed the CMC chief of insulting Gowda, a former Prime Minister. Peace prevailed after the CMC chief reinstalled the portrait of Gowda.
The tussle over portraits of political leaders is not new for the Hassan city municipality. There was heated exchange of words among the JDS and Congress over installation of the portrait of former revenue minister and senior congress leader late H C Srikantaiah at the CMC meeting hall a decade ago.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Mohan clarified that the portrait of the former Prime Minister may have been removed recently by workers to apply whitewash on the walls, and he decided to put the portrait back after the renovation.
“I have high regards for Gowda, the only political leader from Karnataka who became a Prime Minister,” he said. However, the JDS councillors were not swayed, reiterating that the CMC president removed the portrait following direction from local MLA Preetam J Gowda, a political rival of former minister H D Revanna, Gowda’s son. The councillors said that all councillors should respect Gowda who has contributed immensely to his native Hassan and the state.