BSY on war memorial: Yes, no, yes

BSY on war memorial: Yes, no, yes


Express News Service First Published : 17 Jul 2010 01:13:50 PM IST
BANGALORE: Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Friday backtracked from his decision toshift the war memorial from the Indira Gandhi MusicalFountain (IGMF) Park.
The sudden decision sparked off sharp reactions from the opposition parties which accused the former of surrendering to the larger interest of the Bangaloreans to one individual.
In the Legislative Council on Friday, Yeddyurappa made a suo motu announcement that the war memorial would be built inside the IGMF Park itself and it would not be shifted anywhere.
“As the work on the memorial has already begun and the construction of the memorial will not affect the environment, it has been decided not to shift the venue
of the memorial,” Yeddyurappa said.
He also cited the location of the IGMF Park, which is in the heart of the city, as the reason for his backtracking.
“The present location is convenient for school children and tourists to visit the memorial once it is constructed,” he said.
On July 2, the CM had announced his decision to shift the memorial to some other venue which is big and spacious than the site at the IGMF Park.
Enraged by the sudden decision, JD(S) leader MC Nanaiah accused the CM of losing political balance while pointing out inconsistency in his decision. “He has surrendered the larger public interest to an individual. After this decision, Yeddyurappa has no moral right to continue in office,” Nanaiah said. He also accused the CM of yielding to the political pressure of Rajya Sabha member Rajiv Chandrashekhar, who first floated the idea of constructing a war memorial. “He (Rajiv) has a vested interest in it. He wants to convert the entire seven acres of land on which the memorial is planned into a private property,” Nanaiah said. Terming the Yeddyurappa government ‘mad’ and ‘senseless,’ which has no respect for public sentiment, Nanaiah called upon Bangaloreans to take up the fight to teach Yeddyurappa a lesson.