Bengaluru:  Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced on Tuesday that late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar would be honoured with the Karnataka Ratna award posthumously.

Basavaraj Bommai in his address at the ‘Puneeth Namana’ programme organized by Karnataka Film Chambers of Commerce to pay tributes to the star who passed away recently. A memorial too would be built in the honour of Puneeth to make his name and memories immortal. Apart from this honour, my cabinet will also take decisions on getting national awards and honours for Puneeth, he declared.

Recalling his association with Appu the Chief Minister said, he was close to me. He was a fountain of talent and it was evident from his childhood days itself. He has the distinction of being the only actor who got the national award as a child artist.  It was wonderful to watch how Puneeth as a child actor used to incarnate himself in to the character overcoming the father-son relationship while acting with his late father Dr Rajkumar, he said.

Bommai said as the saying goes Sharanarannu Maranadalli Nodu, thanking Puneeth’s fans for the manner in which they conducted themselves after his death and during his funeral, see the greatness of a man in his death, it reflected the great character and personality of Puneeth.