Fulfilling promise made to locals: Shivakumar on construction of 114 ft Jesus Christ statue

Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that he was fulfilling a promise made to locals by constructing the statue of Jesus Christ and the move should not be seen in the political context.

"People had told me they wanted a statue of Jesus Christ in Harobele as there was no statue of Christ in the region. I told them not to construct any statue unless the land belonged to them," Shivakumar told ANI.

"I had promised the people that I will help them out and I have done my job. It is not for politics or power. One has to do some things for self-satisfaction in life," he added.

Shivakumar, the MLA from Kanakapura, had on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of a Jesus Christ statue, which is slated to attain a height of 114 ft will be coming in Ramanagara district's Harobele area.

The statue will be 101 feet tall while the rest of the height will come from the pedestal.

In comparison, the world's tallest statue of Jesus Christ "Monument of Christ the King" stands 172 feet tall including the 9.8 feet crown and 54 feet mound in Poland's Swiebodzin.

"In my constituency, I have built hundreds of temples. More than 30 acres of property in three locations have been given to government education institutions. I have also bought properties and donated them to various organisations," Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar has also handed over title deeds and other documents to the trust responsible for the construction of the statue, which will be made from hard granite.

Shivakumar had got 10 acres of land sanctioned by the state government in Harobele for the statue.