The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Face challenges thrown at you, people told

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Saturday, Oct 27, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Face challenges thrown at you, people told

Special Correspondent

Former Chief Minister Bangarappa felicitated on his 75th birthday

Bangarappa was elected to the Assembly six times and to the Lok Sabha twice
He will undertake a tour of all Assembly constituencies from November 15

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Celebrations: S. Bangarappa and his wife being felicitated in Bangalore on Friday.

Bangalore: The former Chief Minister and president of the State unit of the Samajwadi Party S. Bangarappa on Friday exhorted people not to be cowards and face the challenges thrown at them akin to the manner in which he had faced challenges in his four decades of public life.

Mr. Bangarappa was replying to the felicitations extended to him on his 75th birthday in the presence of a galaxy of leaders of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), Union Minister M.V. Rajasehkaran and thousands of his supporters, mostly from his home district of Shimoga at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, here.

The Samajwadi Party leader was instrumental in getting khatas to 10,000 tillers in his district through a mass movement launched by the late socialist leader Shantaveri Gopala Gowda. He said that he left the Congress when the late R. Gundu Rao was installed as Chief Minister in 1980 ignoring his claim to the post. Mr. Bangarappa was the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee at that time.

He said that tillers in the neighbouring taluks of Sagar and Tirthahalli in Shimoga district also got khatas during his movement. Mr. Bangarappa said that he could not tolerate the injustice done to him by the Congress and formed the Karnataka Kranti Ranga. He was elected to the Assembly six times and to the Lok Sabha twice, but enjoyed power only for four and a half years. Rest of his life, he had been working for the welfare of the people, he added.

“Solillada Sardara,” as he was fondly called by his supporters, Mr. Bangarappa said that he was undertaking a tour from November 15 in a helicopter covering all the Assembly constituencies, preparing the Samajwadi Party for the next elections.

President of the UNPA and Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mulayam Sangh Yadav, who presented a purse of Rs.75 lakh to Mr. Bangarappa wanted him to continue his fight for the poor and downtrodden in the State.

Telugu Desam Party President and Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly N. Chandrababu Naidu released Sarekoppa Bangarappa, a felicitation volume. He said that Karnataka, the IT capital of the country should strive to take the benefits of IT revolution to the betterment of the poor and this was where Mr. Bangarappa should activate his party cadre in the state. The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah, released a souvenir and sang a song in praise of Mr. Bangarappa.

General secretary of the Samajwadi Party Amar Singh hailed Mr. Bangarappa for his ideology and principles and said that he had left the Bharatiya Janata Party and got re-elected to the Lok Sabha, when he could not compromise with the “communal agenda” of that party. All the UNPA leaders assured that he would get support from them in his fight for the causes he espoused.

Union Minister of State for Planning M.V. Rajasekharan presented a citation to Mr. Bangarappa and his wife Shakuntala Bangarappa. Jaya Bachchan, MP, launched the website and Jayaprada, MP, released a VCD and DVD on Mr. Bangarappa.

Hampa Nagarajaiah, writer, and Chandrasekhar Kambar, MLC, who read out the citation and felicitation speeches said that it was during Mr. Bangarappa’s tenure that programmes such as Vishwa for artisans and Ashraya sites for the poor of all castes and communities were introduced.

Shivaraj Kumar, actor, came and took the blessings from the in-laws. He also enthralled the audience by singing a line from the song in Jogi.

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