After drawing flak for Nehru omission from freedom fighters list, Karnataka CM Bommai mentions him in Independence Day speech

“In Karnataka, much before the freedom movement began, Kittur Veera Rani Channamma and Veera Sangolli Rayanna and many others fought against the British. Kannadigas should, in fact, be proud of their sacrifices and martyrdom. The country achieved freedom due to sacrifices of all such personalities,” he said.

“In fact, we are enjoying the fruits of their sacrifices and martyrdom. Hence, we should realise the significance of their sacrifices and understand our duties and responsibilities for the welfare of India which, in the true sense, is the respect we should be paying for their martyrdom,” the Karnataka chief minister said.

On Sunday, former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah called for an apology from Bommai for omitting the name of Nehru from a list of freedom fighters published in a state advertisement to mark Independence Day.

“Not including Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the list of freedom fighters in today’s govt ad shows how low a CM can go to save his chair,” the Congress leader said in a series of messages on social media Sunday afternoon.

“The CM of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai should apologize to the entire nation for insulting Pandit Nehru. The people of India and Karnataka will never accept anyone who humiliates their country’s first prime minister,” Siddaramaiah said.

The Karnataka government released an advertisement through the state information department on Sunday highlighting the contributions of various freedom fighters to the cause of Indian Independence.

The advertisement featured Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, and Veer Savarkar among a list of 10 national freedom fighters, and 10 freedom fighters from Karnataka.