The statue of unity is up Sardar Patel towers over Gujarat from the banks of the Narmada River. Construction of a statue of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj too will soon start off the coast of Mumbai and Lord Ram will be immortalised in statuary on the banks of the Saryu River in Ayodhya in the near future. But all these are monuments to heroes of the ruling dispensation, is the feeling amid Opposition worthies. Time for some southern comfort, then, naturally.
So, now the Janata Dal United-Congress coalition ruling Karnataka has decided not be left behind and is mulling erecting a 125-feet statue of Mother Cauvery.
Of course, being ‘secular’ parties, the coalition is pushing the line that the idea is to highlight the tourism potential of the project which, according to the State Government, will be “on the lines of Disneyland”. The site for the proposed statue is at the Brindavan Gardens adjoining the Krishna Raja Sagara dam and the plan is to develop the whole area as a tourist attraction complete with amusement park, according to State Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar and State Tourism Minister SaRa Mahesh who are busy making budgetary provisions for the plan while in the same breath claiming that no public money will be spent on the project.
The bottom line: Statue politics is here to stay for the foreseeable future!
