Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation members seek Bharat Ratna for seer

HUBBALLI: Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) passed a resolution on Wednesday to put pressure on the Centre to posthumously confer Bharat Ratna on pontiff Shivakumara Swami of Siddaganga Mutt, Tumakuru, in recognition of his service to society.
In a condolence meeting at the HDMC office here, corporators, irrespective of their party affiliation, urged the Union government to present the Bharat Ratna to Shivakumara Swami, who passed away on Monday.
Due to the three-day state mourning, the HDMC general body meeting turned into a condolence meeting before it was postponed.
Congress member and former mayor Prakash Kyarakatti said no one has done as much service as the seer for the upliftment of poor by providing education.
Subhash Shindhe of Congress also said the seer must be given the Bharat Ratna. He added that the HDMC must pass a resolution in this regard and send it to the Union government. Former mayors Poorna Patil, Dr Pandurang Patil, Veerana Savadi, opposition leader Ganesh Tagargunti, Altaf Kittur and Deepa Gouri recalled their experience in the Siddaganga Mutt and the service rendered by the late seer.
After listening to the views of all corporators, mayor Sudhir Saraf passed a resolution, urging the Centre to present Bharat Ratna to Shivakumara Swami.