From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
BANGALORE, Aug 13: Even as Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his cabinet colleagues are all set to leave for Chennai to participate in the ceremony for unveiling the statue of Kannada poet-saint Sarvajna on Thursday, Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj and other pro-Kannada organisations have announced plans to move the Supreme Court against the unveiling of the statue of Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar near Halasuru Lake in the city by Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on August 9.
Former MLA Vatal Nagaraj and ex-MLA Prabhakar Reddy,a who addressed a news conference in the city on Wednesday, said they along with other pro-Kannada organisations will file a joint public interest petition in the apex court questioning the state government’s decision to permit the unveiling of Thiruvalluvar statue.
The unveiling in of the statues of Thiruvalluvar in Bangalore and Sarvajna in Chennai was embroiled in a controversy and held up for 18 long years, with the protagonists and opponents approaching the prime minister and the president besides filing writ petitions in the high court.
A division bench of the Karnataka high court had dismissed a writ petition recently.
Vatal Nagaraj and Prabhakar Reddy criticised chief minister Yeddyurappa for his high-handedness in brazenly brushing aside those opposing the unveiling of the statue when the Tamil Nadu government was not cooperating in amicably resolving the inter-state Cauvery water dispute besides going ahead with its Hogenakkal project despite the genuine grievances from the people of Karnataka.
``We were arrested in Bangalore and Hassan and shunted to far away places as if were guilty of some anti-social activities or acts of terrorism,’’ they said questioning the necessity for arresting over 1,500 persons and registering criminal cases.
The installation of Thiruvalluvar’s statue would not solve the long-pending Cauvery water sharing dispute between two states. The pro-Kannada organisations would oppose implementation of a drinking water project at Hogenakkal by the Tamil Nadu Government. All pro-Kannada organisations would meet on August 23 to decide the future course of action to protect the interest of the state, Nagaraj said.
Former minister B T Lalitha Naik and Dalit leader D B N Murthy warned that the voices and sentiments of pro-Kannada activists could not be silenced by anti-democratic actions of the BJP regime merely with an eye on swaying the numerically large Tamil people in the city during the ensuing Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections.