MANGALURU: Sri Vishwesha Thirtha swamiji of Pejawar mutt is known for his social reforms. The pontiff had hosted an iftar event for the Muslim brethren on Saturday. This is not the first time that the he had taken such an initiative.
He had done so in 1984-85 during his third Paryaya, but at that time there were no strong protests. The pontiff was then a VHP leader and a member of the Margadarshak Mandali.
Earlier, he had opened the doors of Krishna temple to Dalits which was strongly opposed by Hindu hardliners. But the swamiji stood like a rock behind his reform movement and in due course all opposition had fizzled out.
“We are shocked at the iftar event hosted by the pontiff. It is unacceptable, All our lives we have been involved in Gau Rakshan on the advice of the swamiji, but now this event has confused us,” said Vinay L Shetty of Gau Rakshan Samithi of BJP.
However, M A Gafoor, Congress leader, said, “The swamiji set an example for all the other Hindu mutts to bring the Muslim common people united in a situation of mutual trust and confidence.”
Some opposition leaders say the Hindu leaders in Udupi have been using this event to please the Muslims, with an eye to the 2018 assembly elections. But the BJP leaders have refuted this and charged that it was Congress which played votebank politics.