From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Mar 29: The ruling BJP under chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has been going all out to promote erstwhile Kannada film stars and other stalwarts besides erecting statues of historical figures in Bengaluru and in the districts but has completely forgotten BJP’s former Union minister Ananth Kumar, who had toiled for the growth of the party in the State till his death, according to tweet from the late BJP leader's younger daughter Vijetha.
The utter neglect of BJP’s own stalwart by the ruling party has been succinctly described by Vijetha in a tweet: "Appa formally joined BJP in 1987 and worked for it till his last breath. Not acknowledging his contributions by naming him in inaugural programs, roads, rail lines is trivial. He is alive in the hearts of lakhs of people. The party that's forgetting him requires self-reflection.’’
It may be recalled, the Bommai regime recently renamed the Race Course Road near the government’s seat of power Vidhana Soudha after Kannada film star Ambarish, who was known as Rebel Star during his lifetime, and had served as Union Minister. In fact, he had once resigned from the Union government over the Cauvery water issue, the lifeline of farmers in the Cauvery belt in the Old Mysore region.
Ananth Kumar
While Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar has several memorials, statues and busts across the city besides a memorial at the Kanteera Studio.
Dr Rajkumar’s son Puneeth Raj Kumar, known as Power Star and nicknamed Appu, had been conferred the State’s highest civilian award Karnataka Ratna posthumously. The 12 kms stretch on Outer Ring Road has been named after Puneeth Raj Kumar.
There is another memorial for Vishnuvardhan, known as Sahasa Simha, in Mysore.
The Chief Minister in his last budget prior to the assembly elections had announced special schemes after Kannada film star Ananth Nag’s brother Shankar Nag and even announced taxi and auto stands will be built to commemorate the actor’s memory. There is a cyber memorial named after Shankar Nag near Mysuru.
A road in Jayangar has been named after another Kannada named after Vajramuni, known mostly for his negative and villain roles in films.
The veteran, Ananth Kumar, along with former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, had toiled for the growth of BJP. Ananth Kumar had started his political career from Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP) and rose to become State BJP president and later as Cabinet minister under former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and even under Narendra Modi.
When Ananth Kumar passed away, his wife Tejaswini Ananth Kumar was denied the party ticket to contest from Bengaluru Lok Sabha seat and instead the party chose Tejaswi Surya. Ananth Kumar’s wife was not considered for assembly tickets or even as MLC. She however, has remained loyal to the party. There was a strong demand for considering Tejaswini but the party somehow has ignored the leader or his wife unlike the practice of allotting the seats to their spouse following sudden deaths.
There is a small stretch of road near the Yediyur hospital near his residence. There is a Anantha Prerana Trust run by Ananth Kumar’s wife.
Ananth Kumar had also played a key role in getting the Bengaluru International Airport, Metro Rail Project and had staunchly supported the State’s case on the Cauvery water dispute.
Incidentally, Vijetha has caused quite a flutter within the ruling BJP by indicating that she was impressed by JD(S) and was considering joining the party led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, former chief minister. In fact, Kumaraswamy had publicly said the party would happily welcome Ananth Kumar’s daughter in its fold. However, nothing further has happened since then.