Savarkar row surfaces in Bengaluru after photo put up in metro station

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has waded into controversy by putting on display a painting of V D Savarkar at the Kempegowda Metro Station in Majestic.

The painting, hung next to the stairs of the west entry of the station, has Chandrashekhar Azad and Udham Singh in the foreground with Savarkar on the top left corner. It had gone unnoticed for days. However, as the row over Savarakar led to violence in Shivamogga, a passenger questioned the decision to celebrate a controversial person who has evoked outrage.

Some metro passengers and activists said the BMRCL has unnecessarily created a controversy. Vinay K Srinivasa, a lawyer and activist, noted that BMRCL should have given prominence to fighters from Karnataka.

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"There are so many freedom fighters from Karnataka who have been forgotten. Knowing that Savarkar is a divisive figure, officials should have avoided his portrait. BMRCL has set good examples for public art in KR Market and Cubbon Park stations," he said.

Others noted that officials must focus on projects at hand rather than becoming an arm of political leaders. "The BMRCL is an organisation vested with huge responsibility of constructing metro lines. They are behind schedule on many of the projects, especially the metro lines to Whitefield and Electronic City. It's a huge waste of time and resources to entertain any political ideology," said Varun, a passenger.

BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parvez could not be reached for a comment. However, an official said the painting was part of art works procured from the Chitrakala Parishath six months ago. Following instructions from the Union government, the BMRCL had placed an order for large portraits of freedom fighters.

"We have paid about Rs 16 lakh for the paintings of the freedom fighters. Hundreds of paintings have been procured to be used at metro stations. However, we didn't pick and choose which of the leaders should be painted. The selection was done by the artists in Chitrakala Parishath," an official told DH.

Another official said that they were not aware of the political ramifications of the paintings. "We never thought that there would be a need to screen each painting for any controversy. Like thousands of commuters, we had not observed the painting till the controversy erupted. Now, removing it will add to the controversy. We can only hope for people to ignore it and move on," he added.