Members of various organisations have expressed strong opposition to a move to install statues of the former Prime Ministers late Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi at sites associated with the City Corporation and the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) in Kalaburagi.

President of the Kalyana Karnataka Pratyeka Rajya Horata Samiti M.S. Patil Naribol, Lakshmikant Swadi, district president of the Gramina Abhivriddhi Horata Samiti Shravan Kumar Nayak and district president of Sri Rama Sene Mahesh Kembhavi criticised the initiative, terming it objectionable.

Mr. Naribol said that the statue installation work has been initiated without obtaining the necessary no-objection certificates (NOCs) or formally laying a foundation stone but carried out clandestinely raising suspicions over the process.

The organisation members also questioned the decision to install statues of three former Prime Ministers from the same political family while overlooking other national leaders.

They suggested that if statues are to be installed in Kalaburagi, due representation should be given to other prominent figures. They proposed that a statue of the former Prime Minister late Lal Bahadur Shastri be installed at the APMC Yard in recognition of his Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan slogan that honours farmers.

Similarly, they opposed the installation of Rajiv Gandhi’s statue on KMF Kalaburagi premises recalling the unceremonious dismissal of the former Chief Minister late Veerendra Patil from office. They argued that installing Rajiv Gandhi’s statue will be inappropriate. Instead, they suggested that a statue of the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam be installed at the site, citing his contributions to science, education and national development.

On the City Corporation premises, they recommended replacing the proposed statue of Indira Gandhi with that of the former Prime Minister late P.V. Narasimha Rao or installing statues representing all the former Prime Ministers, regional leaders associated with the Kalyana Karnataka liberation movement and the former Chief Ministers from Kalaburagi district.

They warned that proceeding with the installation of statues of leaders from a single political family will lead to intensified protests.