BENGALURU: Several Lingayat seers on Monday met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and urged him to take steps to install a statue of 12th Century social reformer Basavanna on the premises of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru. The seers, who submitted a memorandum to the CM, also demanded that the State Government take up initiatives to take Basavanna’s preaching to the people.
They also demanded to establish and construct Sharana Darshana in Bengaluru on 25 acres. The seers also demanded the government establish the Sharana Memorial Preservation Authority to look into all the existing memorials of Basavanna, including his birthplace.
They also demanded the setting up of the Vachana University and Research Centre at Basavakalyan, where the government is constructing Anubhava Mantapa. They also sought Basavana Bhavanas in all districts, organise discussions on vachanas and other sharana literature, and digitisation of handwritten vachanas.
In the memorandum, they appealed to the government to allocate Rs 100 crore annually for the next five years to implement all these initiatives. The seers demanded that the grants be announced in the upcoming state budget. Siddaramaiah assured them that he would take it up in a phased manner.
The CM said that his government is committed to extending support to the Vachana movement. “I had taken oath as the CM for the first time on Basava Jayanti. Some people cannot oppose Basavanna openly but are opposing secretly. They are supporting the caste system. Basavanna’s teachings are there in Dr BR Ambedkar’s thoughts. All these are in our Constitution,” the CM said.