Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge courted controversy after he said if allowed, he would remove freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar’s portrait from the ‘Suvarna Vidhana Soudha’. Speaker UT Khader, however, clarified on Thursday that there is no proposal to remove the life-size picture from the assembly chamber in Belagavi.

“I am of the strong opinion that Savarkar’s photo should not be there in the assembly or in the counsel. If the BJP has a problem with it, it is their problem. It is my opinion that anybody whose ideology incites hatred, creates division should not be there, Savarkar’s portrait should not be there…” Kharge said.

The BJP threatened mass protests if Savarkar’s portrait is removed. “Priyank Kharge is ill-informed. He thinks he is one of the most educated people, but he is the most uneducated person in the assembly. If he tries to do so (remove Savarkar’s photo), protests will not only break inside the assembly but also outside,” said BJP MLA Bharath Shetty.

BJP MLC Chandrashekhar Bawankule said Kharge has insulted Savarkar and other patriots alongside him. He said the Congress has not missed a single opportunity to insult the freedom fighter. “Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge, a minister in the Karnataka government, has insulted the freedom fighter Savarkar… Kharge has insulted patriots by asking this. The Congress has not missed a single opportunity to insult the freedom fighter. First, Rahul Gandhi and now Kharge… but remember one thing, the people of this country will never tolerate the disrespect of freedom fighters. Voters will also teach Congress a lesson about this contempt,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The BJP also directed questions at Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, who is part of the INDIA bloc, asking him if he will be responding or even protesting against Savarkar’s “insult” by the Congress. “But I also want to ask Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, who is a member of the ‘Indi’ front, will you protest against this insult by the Congress or will you keep silent while the freedom hero Savarkar is being insulted?” Bawankule asked.

What the Speaker said

Khader said he said he will go by the Constitution, amid speculation that Savarkar’s portrait at ‘Suvarna Vidhana Soudha’ will be removed. “I don’t know about the matter…there is no such proposal,” Khader said in response to a question about speculation that Savarkar’s portrait will be removed and replaced with former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s.

Asked what he would do if such a proposal comes, he added: “Let it come first…”

Savarkar’s portrait was unveiled in December 2022, along with several national icons. Back then, it had drawn criticism from the then opposition, Congress, which had alleged that it was a unilateral decision keeping them in the dark.

Asked to respond to a question about the opinion expressed by some Congress MLAs that the photos put up were not in accordance with the protocol and had to be done as per the rule, Khader said, “What has to be done in accordance with the Constitution, I will do it… I will function in accordance with the Constitution.”

Reacting to speculations, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said it is left to the Speaker to decide. Speaking to reporters today, Minister Kharge said in his personal opinion it would be appropriate to remove the portrait of Savarkar, and if allowed, he would remove it.

“But, it has to be done in accordance with rules, it is not in my hands, we will have to abide by what the Speaker decides,” he said. Kharge asked the BJP to answer his questions about Savarakar first, “after that, let them install his photo or erect his statue.” “Who gave the title Veer to Veer Savarkar? There is no clarity on it. If they (BJP) knows, let them tell. Whether Savarkar was taking pension from the British or not? Did he write an apology letter (to the British) five to six times or not? Did his family write the apology letter or not? “When Subhas Chandra Bose was organising the Indian National Army–did he not go against him and influence the people to join the British Army or not? What was his opinion on Gau Mata? Let BJP answer these simple questions,” he asked.

The portraits of Swami Vivekananda, Subash Chandra Bose, B R Ambedkar, Basaveshwara, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Savarkar were unveiled by then Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, inside the Assembly chamber, just before the commencement of the 10-day winter session of the state legislature in this border district, last year. The Congress led by Siddaramaiah, who was then the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and party’s state president D K Shivakumar staged a demonstration outside ‘Suvarna Vidhana Soudha’ holding pictures of several top national and state figures like Kuvempu, Narayana Guru, Shishunala Sharif, Nehru, and Babu Jagjivan Ram.

Stating that it is his party’s demand that portraits of national leaders and social reformers should be installed in the Assembly and they are not protesting against any one portrait, Siddaramaiah had then said, without any discussions or consultation unilaterally decisions have been taken to install certain portraits inside the House. Meanwhile, senior Congress MLA Basavaraj Rayareddy is planning to submit a petition to the Speaker, seeking installation of portraits in the Assembly chamber as per “protocol”.

(With PTI inputs)