Bangalore: Birth Anniversary of Kengal Hanumanthaiya Celebrated

The Hindu

Bangalore, Feb 11: Politicians, including the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramiah, who attended the 102nd birth anniversary of the former Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiya on Wednesday, February 10 emphasised the need for following his footsteps, particularly his integrity in public life and efficiency in looking after the interests of the people.

Minister for Labour B.N. Bache Gowda, who inaugurated the function organised by the Kengal Hanumanthaiya Memorial Trust agreed with its Chairman D.K. Shivakumar and Trustee T. Sripada Renu that the centenary of the late Hanumanthaiya should be celebrated befitting his stature.

Funds for centenary

Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Renu urged the Government to release Rs.1 crore, announced by the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, for the purpose, and to write to the Union Government to expedite the issue of a postal stamp, start a chair in the universities to teach administrative reforms and introduce the contributions of the Congress leader in textbooks. The Heritage Building, under construction near the Yeshwanthpur Railway Station should be named after the late leader, they said.

Referring to the slogan engraved at the top of the north entrance of Vidhana Soudha at the behest of its builder — Government’s work is God’s work — Mr. Siddaramiah said that if all the politicians followed it, people’s welfare could be achieved. The former Union Minister C.M. Ibrahim said that Hanumanthaiya, after relinquishing the Chief Minister’s post, took up the construction of Anjaneya at Kengal, his birthplace and started raising funds on Avenue Road, here. But, he refused to accept the donation given by an acquaintance, who was a contractor, saying that his money was tainted. How many politicians today had the guts to say so? he asked. The former MP Sachidananda Swamy; Hemachandra Sagar, MLA; Raju, MLC; Munivenkata Reddy, former MLC; S.T. Somasekhar, General Secretary, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee; and Giriyappa, brother of Hanumanthaiya, were present. In the morning, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, Mr. Siddaramiah and other leaders garlanded the statue of Hanumanthaiya at the Vidhana Soudha.