By P.T. Bopanna
Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya, the poster boy of the Hindutva brigade, known for his immature behaviour, seems to have matured after his marriage to Chennai based classical singer, dancer and YouTuber Sivasri Skandaprasad.
Prior to his marriage, Surya’s antics were unbecoming of an MP, representing Karnataka’s most educated constituency, where I happen to be a voter. I used to wonder how a boy who studied at Kumaran’s school could behave inappropriately and utter pedestrian language.
My view of Surya has changed now. Though I do not subscribe to the communal ideology of the BJP, I might vote for Surya because of the way he has tried to convince that the proposed 17 km tunnel underground project was not in the interest of the city.
Being a lover of Lalbagh Garden, I am horrified how the tunnel could cut through the iconic garden, the only major lung space of the so-called garden city of Bengaluru.
Surya has convinced that the tunnel is not in the interest of the city and more investment on public transport was the best solution. From the beginning, I felt the tunnel project was a ‘scam’.
In the past, I was ashamed of Surya for his crude remarks and behaviour. A few years ago, during a rally in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Surya commented that only “puncture-wallahs and illiterates” were present in the rally.
On another occasion, he tried to give a communal twist to a scam involving allocation of beds in the coronavirus war room.
A few years ago, when parts of Bengaluru were facing severe floods, Surya was loitering around eateries to taste dosas and posting about it on social media.
The most talked about incident involving Surya was trying to open an emergency door on an IndiGo flight while the aircraft was still on the ground at Chennai airport.
I am thankful to his wife Sivasri Skandaprasad for apparently guiding her husband to behave in a more responsible manner.
