HUBBALLI: Setting April 19 as the deadline to fulfil various demands, including the establishment of a Jain Development Board, noted Jain seer Gunadharanandi Maharaj of Varur Navkshtra Tirtha Kshetra has warned the state government of staging a Sallekhana Vrata (fast unto death) by stopping food and water consumption, in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.
Speaking to the media here on Monday, the seer said, “Jainism is an ancient religion and our community has a prominent place in culture, literature and charity. We are givers but now we have been forced into a situation where we have to ask for our rights.”
The seer mentioned that several petitions urging the establishment of the Jain Development Board had been submitted to various ministers and the CM, but none yielded any results. He recalled that when the community had previously staged a hunger strike, the CM had promised to establish the board soon. However, he expressed his displeasure stating that no mention of the issue had been made in the recent budget.
In light of this, a meeting of community leaders from every village in the state has been organised and a final petition will be submitted to the government on March 18 during a ‘Bengaluru Chalo’ movement. More than 500 vehicles and thousands of people are expected to be present at the KG Jain Mangal Karyalaya in Bengaluru.
Stating that this would serve as the final appeal to the government, he said, if the government does not fulfil the community’s demands by April 19, a procession on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti will be cancelled and a statewide protest will be launched against the government. Finally, he tearfully stated that they had decided to resort to observing Sallekhana Vrata in front of Vidhan Soudha until the board is established.