Belagavi, 28 Nov

Speaker UT Khader’s new chair and its accompanying tale in the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi costs a total of Rs 42.93 lakh, according to RTI activist Bhimappa Gadad. Khader had directed the instalments to be based on the lines of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly’s dais in Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha.

Gadad, who filed the Right to Information (RTI) petition and made the details public. He alleged that Rs 1.98 lakh has been spent on replacing the plywood, frame and cushioning of the Legislative Council Chair. 

Addressing the media in Belagavi on Friday, Gadad accused the State government of misusing taxpayers’ money. 

“In 2012, during the inauguration of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, furniture worth Rs 36.60 lakh was purchased for the resting arrangements of the then President of India. Now even that record has been surpassed,” he alleged.

He further stated that on 22 February, 2023, the government released Rs 13.34 lakh to renowned artists to create seven oil portraits of great leaders, each measuring 8×5 feet. 

Another Rs 67.67 lakh was spent on installing a total of 11 portraits of prominent leaders and dignitaries inside the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, as well as on preparing a special oil painting for the ‘Anubhava Mantapa’, he claimed.

According to Gadad, an expert committee of the Karnataka Lalithakala Academy that inspected the completed portraits had found that many of the facial features did not resemble the real personalities. On the committee’s recommendation, the government approved a fresh expenditure of Rs 28.49 lakh on 25 October, 2024, to redo the paintings. 

Furthermore, on 4 February, 2025, an additional Rs 25.84 lakh was released for installing the Anubhava Mantapa painting and handing over a Gandhi artwork, he alleged.