Rajiv Gandhi, Devaraj Urs made lasting contributions to social justice: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the contributions of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Karnataka Chief Minister Devaraj Urs towards social justice and building an equal society would always be remembered.

Speaking at a programme organised at Freedom Park in Bengaluru to mark the birth anniversaries of the two leaders, Siddaramaiah said it was significant that their birth anniversaries fell on the same day. He called for greater efforts to introduce their ideals to the younger generation.

Siddaramaiah said Rajiv Gandhi became the youngest Prime Minister of the country and made important contributions to several sectors, including science and technology and telecommunications.

He said Rajiv Gandhi had great faith in young people and brought them into the mainstream of democracy by lowering the voting age to 18.

Rajiv Gandhi also played an important role in creating opportunities for backward classes, women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities in local governance through the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments relating to the Panchayati Raj system, Siddaramaiah said.

Recalling the period when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, Siddaramaiah said he was then contesting the Lok Sabha election from Koppal as a Janata Dal (Secular) candidate. The postponement of the election following the assassination changed the course of his political career, he recalled.

Siddaramaiah said Devaraj Urs was a leader who took several important steps towards social justice.

When Urs was Chief Minister in 1972, he constituted the Havanur Commission and implemented its recommendations, creating greater opportunities for backward classes in education and employment, Siddaramaiah said.

He also recalled Urs' role in implementing several welfare measures, including land reforms, abolition of manual scavenging and debt relief.

These initiatives were aimed at ensuring a life of dignity for people at the lowest levels of society, he said. Urs also played an important role in renaming Mysore State as Karnataka, Siddaramaiah added.

Siddaramaiah called upon the Congress party and its workers to take the ideas and principles of Rajiv Gandhi and Devaraj Urs, who worked for the Constitution, democracy and an equal society, to the younger generation.