CHIKKAMAGALURU: After the Supreme Court’s verdict in the long-pending Ayodhya dispute, people from Chikkamagaluru are now urging the court to settle the three-decade-old Datta Peetha issue once and for all.
District in-charge minister CT Ravi, who spearheaded the Datta Peetha movement, has once again appealed for an amicable solution to the issue.
The minister on Monday said that he wanted to explore all possibilities to settle the issue out of court.
“In 2016-17, the Supreme Court had given a golden opportunity to the then-Congress government, led by Siddaramaiah, to resolve the Datta Peetha issue through negotiations. They had formed a committee under the chairmanship of retired HC judge H Nagmohandas, which had submitted a report that was rejected by Hindu outfits. It was due to that government’s prejudice that the issue still remains unsolved,” Ravi said.
What is the dispute?
Till 1986, the Bababuden Swamy Dargah and the Datta cave shrine atop Baba Budangiri mountain in Chikkamagaluru taluk, had been a place of religious harmony for both Hindus and Muslims.
However, Hindu outfits such as the VHP, Bajrang Dal and Guru Dattatreya Peeth Samvardhana Samiti launched an agitation, accusing Syed Peer Mohammad Sha Quadri, manager of the peetha, of misdeeds.
It was this issue that helped many politicians, such as C T Ravi and Sunil Kumar, get elected as MLAs.