Bengaluru, Oct 2 (IANS): The Karnataka Congress government on Wednesday celebrated the completion of 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s participation in the Belagavi city AICC convention from where he launched the freedom struggle against the British.

In commemoration of 100 years of the Belagavi convention and in honour of Mahatma Gandhi’s 155th birth anniversary, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation’s statue at Gandhi Bhavan on Kumarakrupa Road in Bengaluru.

Following this, they participated in the ‘Gandhi March’ from the Gandhi Bhavan to Vidhana Soudha, where they paid floral tributes to the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

On the same occasion, as part of the Kittur Utsav celebrations, homage was also paid to the statue of Kittur Rani Chennamma, the queen who fought against the British and was martyred.

Addressing the media on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Gandhi March, state Congress President D.K. Shivakumar stated, “Today is a historical day. This is a day on which Mahatma Gandhi took the lead to launch the freedom struggle against the British in the country. One hundred years ago, in 1924, Mahatma Gandhi chaired the AICC convention in Belagavi and led the freedom struggle from the forefront.”

“This is a sacred day when he decided to launch the freedom struggle. Today we are celebrating the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. To ensure the reach of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi to the youth and present generation, the Congress government has organised this programme to commemorate the completion of 100 years of the event,” he stated.

“For one-year, various programmes will be held across the state as part of commemoration by the government.

“As a President of the Congress party I have planned separate programmes on these lines on this occasion,” Shivakumar stated.

On this day, the foot march programme, in the name of ‘Gandhi March’ has been organised from the Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru till the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the premises of the Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar stated.

“After the event, students of more than 500 schools in Bengaluru will be given an oath regarding hygiene and cleanliness.

“Mahatma Gandhi’s first priority was cleanliness and the oath will be given to the children to maintain cleanliness in Bengaluru city,” he stated.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and I will administer the oath in this regard to school students. The children will get connected through zoom. Hence, all children in Bengaluru will be given a message of maintaining hygiene and cleanliness in Bengaluru city,” Shivakumar stated.

“Our party has organised programmes all across the state today and in Bengaluru, an event is organised at Bharat Jodo Bhavan. We have requested all MLAs to take part in the programmes at their respective districts,” he stated.

Former Chief Minister Veerappa Moily, Ministers H.K. Patil, Priyank Kharge, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, KPCC Campaign Committee President Vinay Kumar Sorake, Legislative Council Chief Whip Saleem Ahmad, CM’s Political Secretary Nazeer Ahmad, MLA Rizwan Arshad, former MP V.S. Ugrappa, and several others were present during the event.