Why a Siddaramaiah statue has reopened Karnataka Congress fault lines

In Kalaburagi, a nine-foot golden-hued statue of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was installed overnight without authorization at a circle near the Karnataka High Court's bench. The statue was removed early Thursday morning, just before Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar unfurled the national flag to mark Kalyana Karnataka Utsav.

The statue appeared hastily installed on Wednesday night and was also present when Shivakumar arrived in Kalaburagi on the same night. Corporation Commissioner Avinash Shinde informed The Hindu that the statue was placed without permission, and under his orders, it was taken down. The location falls along the route to Ganagapur in Afzalpur taluk, a place Shivakumar had planned to visit. About three years ago, Siddaramaiah's supporters had tried to name the circle after him.