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Vijayapura, June 18: Shoukat Ali Sumbad, a local farmer, has donated land for the construction of Chennamma memorial, modelled on the Kittur fort, at Sindagi town in Vijayapura to celebrate the town's connect with the valorous Lingayat queen who fought the British in 1824.

Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swamiji of Lingayat Panchamasali Peetha Kudala Sangam said Shoukat Ali came forward to donate his land adjacent to the state highway when local authorities failed to provide land for the memorial. 

"The committee led by Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swamiji sought a 15x10 plot but when I went through their plan of constructing a model of Kittur fort, I decided to donate 425 sq ft," said the 61-year-old farmer. 

"Rani Chennamma is the pride of every Indian, irrespective of caste and creed, and my contribution is nothing compared to her sacrifice for the nation," he added.

Shoukat Ali, who lives in the neighbouring town of Almel, said he is a man of modest means but proud to make the contribution. "I own nine acres of land in Almel. I have six sons and two daughters. Two of my sons run small businesses in Mumbai. Ten of us live in a small house in Almel," he said.

“I also work as a broker to sell or buy sites. I had bought 15 guntas of land in Sindagi for my children some 15 years ago. When our MLA MC Managuli and Swamiji sought land for the memorial, my entire family agreed wholeheartedly” Shoukat Ali said.

“As Chennamma’s history is linked to Sindagi, there has been a demand for a memorial here since 2008, but the town municipal council failed to provide land due to political and technical reasons,” said Swamiji. 

“There were plans to observe a Sindagi bandh in the first week of June to protest the indifference of authorities. But then Sumbad gave us his land. We have formed a committee to construct a model of Kittur fort and a bronze statue of Chennamma at a cost of Rs 28 lakh,” he added.

Bengaluru, Jan 12: Janata Dal (Secular) chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda on Sunday refuted reports of him contesting in the Rajya Sabha elections and added that he is more concerned about strengthening his party in Karnataka.

"I am not interested in going to Rajya Sabha. My concern is to build and strengthen the party in the region to the best of my ability. I had declared earlier that I will not contest elections anymore," Deve Gowda told ANI here.

"My party MP D Kupendra Reddy is there in the Rajya Sabha as of now and further decisions will be taken by the party. In March 2019, towards the end of the 16th Lok Sabha I had declared that I will not contest any more elections," Deve Gowda added.

Four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka are about to fall vacant in June this year as two of Congress, one of BJP and JD(S) MPs retire.

Bengaluru, Jun 17: The Opposition leader in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah on Wednesday strongly urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to desist from invoking amendment to the Land Reforms Act, saying it would make buying land easier for the corporate companies and the rich.

In a hard-hitting letter to the Chief Minister, a copy of which was released to the media, the Congress leader had urged to rescind the decision from amending to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act and also Agriculture Produces Marketing Committee Act.

Asserting that the state government's move was only intending to help to the land grabbers, Siddaramaiah, also the former chief minister, said easing of restrictions to buy land to the tune of over 216 acres per individual would sound a death knell to the farm sector.