Bengaluru: Chief minister DK Shivakumar Saturday announced that a medical college, a major road and an award for the best panchayat will be named after former CM, late Ramakrishna Hegde.Speaking at Hegde’s birth centenary celebrations at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said the state will name a medical college in Uttara Kannada after Hegde following a request from his family. The CM said he instructed the rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) department to institute Ramakrishna Hegde Award for the best panchayat, while a major road in the Shivaram Karanth Layout in Bengaluru will also bear his name.The proposed panchayat award, Shivakumar said, will be a tribute to Hegde’s contribution to decentralisation and grassroots governance. Hegde was a strong advocate of empowering panchayats and taking governance closer to people through local institutions, a principle that shaped his approach to administration.Shivakumar credited Hegde with contributing to Karnataka’s growth in education and human resources. “He opened the door for private medical and engineering institutes in Karnataka. The state now produces 19,940 doctors a year and over 1.2 lakh engineers.”On Hegde’s political legacy, Shivakumar said, “The state has a lot of caste-based politics, but Hegde showed the way for value-based politics back in those day, which supported his growth.”He also highlighted Hegde’s role in nurturing political leadership. “Hegde created leaders. Rajiv Gandhi told me the amendment that was brought in by Hegde was the beginning of the creation of new leadership in the country from panchayat to Parliament. A leader is one who creates leaders and not followers, and that was Hegde’s principle. Rajiv Gandhi followed the principles of Hegde,” Shivakumar added.Former CM Siddaramaiah recalled his association with Hegde during his early political career. “He called me one day and made me the president of Kannada Kavalu Samithi because of my interest in Kannada and its growth. I did not ask for a ministerial position, but Hegde made me a minister, although seniors were left out of the cabinet. He recognised those with potential and groomed them,” Siddaramaiah said.Vice-president CP Radhakrishnan, who inaugurated the centenary celebrations, described Hegde as a statesman committed to decentralisation, three-tier governance, strong federalism and strengthening the Lokayukta. He said Hegde viewed public office as a stewardship of trust and promoted local governance and citizen participation through gram sabhas and panchayats. “Hegde was a rightist thinker with a leftist approach,” Radhakrishnan added.BoxModi recalls late leader’s workIn his message, PM Modi said Hegde demonstrated a keen understanding of society’s changing needs and gave particular importance to decentralising governance and bringing decision-making closer to people. His efforts to strengthen grassroots democratic institutions and improve efficiency in public administration are still remembered, he said.Modi also highlighted Hegde’s principled stand against the Emergency and his role in bringing together those committed to democratic values and development.
