BENGALURU: While several government dignitaries garlanded the statue of former CM S Nijalingappa on the occasion of his 121st birth anniversary, questions were raised on why a memorial for the leader had not yet been set up, though the government had released funds years ago.
Participating in Nijalingappa’s anniversary event, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the government had, in principle, agreed to set up a memorial for the Congress leader who served as chief minister for six years before taking over as AICC president about half a century ago.
Former MLC Mohan Kondajji alleged that the file on the memorial was in limbo for the past three years due to the apathy of the Chitradurga district administration. He said the first step to setting up the memorial is to purchase the former CM’s house in Chitradurga, but the registration had not come through because of a flimsy official lapse. No one seems interested, he added. Kondajji took the opportunity to inform Siddaramaiah, Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel and former Lokayukta Justice Shivaraj Patil, who were present, about how the government was dragging its feet on the memorial. He told Goel that about a year ago, Nijalingappa’s grandson Vinay, the main signatory for the sale, had arrived from the US but returned after officials threw a spanner in the works.
He said, “I spoke to chief secretary Rajneesh Goel to call a meeting of the Chitradurga Deputy Commissioner and Kannada & Culture department officials to get it done.” He alleged that former Chitradurga DC Kavita Mannikeri had wasted their time for a year, and finally, the property transfer did not take place.
“Nijalingappa’s son Kiran Shankar, who stays in Bengaluru, and grandson Vinay were told to come after a date was fixed for registration, but then cancelled it. I have personally followed the movement of the file through the bureaucratic rungs but successive bureaucrats and authorities have stonewalled the process for over 36 months. It is an insult to the memory of this great leader,’’ Kondajji said.