Council recalls Gandhi’s visit to Belagavi

Members hail the contribution of the Mahatma to the freedom struggle

Members of the Legislative Council on Monday hailed the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi to the freedom struggle and how he led a whole nation in a non-violent fight against the British.

Participating in a special ciscussion on the centenary celebration of Gandhi’s visit to Belagavi to participate in a Congress convention in 1924, Council members recalled the momentous occasion and said that it was one of the milestones in the freedom struggle.

Setting the tone for the discussion, member B.K. Hariprasad spoke elaborately on the significance of the Belagavi convention of the Congress mentioning the historical developments, including how Gandhi’s initial struggle against the British in South Africa paved the way for his participation here and how he steered the struggle subsequently and made it a mass movement.

Mr. Hariprasad listed various movements that Gandhi led and spoke about what made him shed his clothes and launch the Swadeshi movement.

BJP’s C.T. Ravi spoke on how Gandhi’s participation gave a new direction to the Congress and converted it into a mass movement. His comments on Savarkar, Ambedkar and Gandhi, however, led to heated debate which was scuttled by the Chairman of the House.

BJP’s Ravikumar came up with several important details of the Congress convention, including the cost of the event, the well dug on the premises, pipeline laid, the reception committee, those who sang the invocation and others, including the resolution passed to fight untouchability and other maladies.

His speech too ended in commotion because of his comments against the Congress.

Dhananjay Sarji, Thippeswamy, Ivan D’souza and a host of others threw light on the significance of the Belagavi convention.

Bilkis Banu suggested setting up a residential institution in the name of Mahatma Gandhi and also a women university to mark the centenary celebrations.

Published - December 16, 2024 10:18 pm IST