DAVANGERE: Law Minister JC Madhuswamy and Eshwaranandapuri Swami, the seer of Kanaka Gurupeeta, struck a peace deal with the intervention of Kaginele seer Niranjananandapuri Swami and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai at Kanaka Gurupeeta at Belludi in Harihara taluk on Thursday. At a press conference organised at the mutt later, Madhuswami became emotional and broke down.
Madhuswamy, who is MLA from Chikkanayakanahalli, courted controversy over dropping the name of saint-poet Kanakadasa from a circle in Huliyar. It is alleged that he insulted Eshwaranandapuri Swami during a peace meeting at Chikkanayakanahalli on November 16. The Kuruba community people staged a series of protests since the incident and even observed Huliyar bandh, seeking Madhuswamy’s apology.
On Thursday, Madhuswamy, accompanied by Bommai, met Niranjananadapuri Swami and Eshwaranandapuri Swami. After a closed-door meeting, Madhuswamy and Eshwaranandapuri Swami announced that their differences were resolved.
Eshwaranandapuri said, “The mutt has decided to withdraw the protests after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa requested us. We all four held a meeting and have resolved our differences. The state government promised that the circle will not be renamed. I request the organisations concerned not to stage any protest. The differences arose due to errors committed by officials.”
Niranjananandapuri Swami said that Bommai called up the mutt and requested to arrange a meeting with the seer. “When the meeting began, we were angry with Madhuswamy. But as it progressed, I noticed Madhuswamy shedding tears. He was emotional and said he had no intention to hurt anybody. He immediately called up the authorities and ensured that the name board was reinstalled in just 10 minutes at the circle. Our intention was not to insult or hurt anyone. What we wanted was to keep the circle named after Kanakadasa. The branch of the mutt at Belludi has witnessed a happy ending to this controversy,” he said.
Madhuswamy said that he never objected to naming the circle after Kanakadasa. “I never insulted the seer at the meeting. I was happy when Bommai asked me if I wanted to meet the seer. The government will issue an order with regard to naming the circle after Kanakadasa. The name board was removed before I became an MLA. I didn’t know that the circle was named after Kanakadasa. Unfortunately, this incident happened,” he said.
Bommai said that there was a communication gap that resulted in this controversy. “There is no objection from anybody to name the circle after Kanakadasa. We will follow the guidance of the seer. The government will walk the talk over naming the circle,” he said.