Siddaramaiah opposes naming of flyover after VD Savarkar

Congress legislative party leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday opposed the naming of a flyover after Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar in Karnataka, asking why should a flyover be named after an accused in Mahatma Gandhi's murder case.

"Savarkar was one of the accused in Mahatma Gandhi's murder and someone who wrote apology letters. Why should a flyover be named after him? And when he was in jail during the British time, he wrote mercy petitions and came out. Why do you want to name the flyover after him," asked Siddaramaiah while talking to media persons here.

The former Karnataka Chief Minister further suggested Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa led BJP government in the State to name the flyover after freedom fighters. "Don't we have 7 Jnanapeeth awardees: Padmabhushan and Padmavibhushan awardees. Name it in the honour of any one of them. Don't we have freedom fighters? Name it after them. What is wrong? They are from Karnataka, and they are Kannadigas and they are achievers. Name it after them," he said.

On June 3, a banner that reads 'Veer Savarkar Flyover Pumpwell' surfaced on the sidewall of the Pumpwell flyover in Mangaluru on Tuesday night. The banner was later removed by some unknown people.This comes amid the controversy over the naming of a flyover at Yelahanka in Bengaluru after Savarkar.

( With inputs from ANI )