UDUPI: Hindu activists wrote to Kaup town municipal council chief officer asking him not to permit Muslims to open shops/stalls during the 'Suggi Maari Pooje' event at three Maarigudis on March 22 and March 23.
The letter has now gone viral. The letter threatened the officer that if he went ahead and allowed members of the Muslim community to open shops during the temple festival, he will be responsible for the after-effects.
The chief officer Venkatesh Navada however told TNIE that he has received the letter, but as India is a secular country, traders from all communities can open the shops. ‘‘We are still examining the issue’’ he noted.
Prakash Kukkehalli, Mangaluru divisional general secretary of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike (HJV) said that local members of HJV in Kaup submitted the letter as per the instructions by HJV leaders. ‘‘There are three Maarigudis in Kaup -- Hale Maarigudi, Hosa Maarigudi and Moorane Maarigudi temples. More than 100 shops would be auctioned during Hosa Maarigudi, the highest among the three temples. We approached the temple management committee which convened a meeting on Friday and passed a resolution to ensure that only Hindus participate in the auction," he said.
It is not just the decision of HJV, the local devotees are also upset as Muslim businessmen shut their shops on March 17 in support of the Karnataka Bandh held against High Court’s verdict on the hijab ban. It was a joint decision by all stakeholders’’ he said.
Ramesh Hegde, president of the temple management committee of Hosa Maarigudi Temple in Kaup echoed Kukkehalli saying that a resolution was passed in the meeting convened on Friday to allow only Hindus during the auctioning of shops/stalls. Shops selling flowers, coconuts, hens and other will all be given only to Hindus’’ he said.
"As over a lakh people would visit the festival on two days, there should not be any law and order problem. So a decision was taken accordingly’’ he said. Those who are expected to participate in the auction process were also directed not to sub-contract their shops to any Muslim traders in the temple premises, he said.