“Suvarna Soudha will bring people closer to administration and governance, leading to economic growth and removal of regional disparities,” said President Pranab Mukherjee after inaugurating the second Secretariat of the State in Belgaum on Thursday.
He hoped that the new seat of administration would be a milestone in meeting the people’s aspirations of good governance and help in the assertion of the rights of the people.
Mukherjee termed it a privilege to inaugurate the Soudha built on the land where Queen Kittur Chennamma fought valiantly against the British, where Lokamanya Balgangadhar Tilak raised the immortal slogan ‘Swaraj is my birth right’ and where the Ffather of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi presided over a historic session of the Indian National Congress in 1924.
He pointed out that Belgaum, the sugar bowl of Karnataka, had contributed a great deal to the industrial development, education, culture, music and economy of the State.
Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj expressed the hope that the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha would lead to redressal of grievances of the people in north Karnataka.
Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said opening the Soudha is a historical moment that will lead to further development of the region.
Referring to the significance of Belgaum in the political, social and cultural history of the State, he said that Belgaum had contributed a great deal to the State and thereby to the country.
“The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha at Belgaum will stand as a symbol of the unity of the State and mark the beginning of the comprehensive development of the region,” he said.