Story perspectives

Officials remove unauthorized 9-foot Siddaramaiah statue in Kalaburagi

By Drooid · Sep 18, 2026, 10:52 AM UTC · How we work

Center

Factional Tensions Exposed

A nine-foot statue of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah was installed without permission at Kalaburagi’s High Court Circle on Wednesday night.
Opposition leader R Ashoka said the episode reflected growing factional tensions within the Karnataka Congress over the chief minister’s post.
Kalaburagi officials covered the statue and removed it the next morning, saying it lacked permission.
Seven to eight villagers from Sharan Sirasagi installed the statue after permission requests were denied.

Right

Grassroots Placement Countered

A nine-foot statue of former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah was installed without permission at the High Court Circle in Kalaburagi on Wednesday night.
Supporters from the Kuruba community, a small group of about ten individuals, personally placed the statue, highlighting grassroots initiative.
Municipal officials removed the statue a few hours later under police supervision.
The group previously installed a Siddaramaiah statue there three years ago, also removed by authorities.

History

Historical Context

When Gandhi returned to India in 1915, he mobilized peasants and launched the 1930 Dandi Salt March with 78 companions, sparking mass civil disobedience that saw about 60,000 arrests. Since then, monuments to him have become flashpoints; the unauthorized nine-foot Siddaramaiah statue in Kalaburagi has drawn protests and a Karnataka High Court order, echoing earlier colonial tensions over nationalist symbols.

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Factional Tensions Exposed

A nine-foot statue of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah was installed without permission at Kalaburagi’s High Court Circle on Wednesday night.
Opposition leader R Ashoka said the episode reflected growing factional tensions within the Karnataka Congress over the chief minister’s post.
Kalaburagi officials covered the statue and removed it the next morning, saying it lacked permission.
Seven to eight villagers from Sharan Sirasagi installed the statue after permission requests were denied.

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