BENGALURU: Demolition of religious structures has taken a twist with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday directing officials across the State not to demolish temples in a hurry. Bommai said he will answer the issue of demolition of temples in Mysuru district on the floor of the House.
He said that a show-cause notice has been issued to Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Dr Bagadi Gautham and Tahsildar Mohana Kumari for not taking people into confidence before demolishing temples in the district. He said that the government will study the 2009 Supreme Court order in detail and discuss it at the cabinet meeting. Detailed instructions will be issued in two days, he added.
After legislators from all parties and Hindu organisation protested against the demolition of Hucchagani Mahadevappa temple at Nanjangud in Mysuru district, the State Government on Tuesday decided to halt all demolitions across the state.
Revenue Minister R Ashoka told The New Indian Express that the Supreme Court order on the demolition of places of worship, including temples, constructed unauthorisedly, is not new as the directions came 12 years ago. “Officials in Mysuru have taken action based on the court order. But at the same time, people’s sentiments should have been respected,” he added.
“The apex court order states that temple authorities should be allowed to shift places of worship on their own. Officials were supposed to convince them. But without doing that, officials in Mysuru proceeded to demolish the temple, which is not right,” he said.
Norms should be same for all religious structures: Ashoka
“They should follow the same guidelines for all places of worship, including temples, churches and masjids. The court kept asking about the number of illegal structures demolished and that might have put pressure on the officials,” Ashoka said.
The government cannot appeal before the Supreme Court as it is the final order. “We can relocate temples that were constructed after 2009. We will take a decision on that soon,” he said. Chief Secretary P Ravikumar directed deputy commissioners to file an affidavit before the High Court on their action plan on illegal religious structures.
The Supreme Court has asked the Karnataka High Court to monitor the demolition of illegal structures. “DCs should identify these structures on government properties, tell the High Court what is their action plan, how many are demolished and what the status is, ‘’ he added.
In Mysuru, Deputy Commissioner Dr Bagadi Gautham said that the demolition of illegal religious structures will be stopped temporarily and the district administration will wait for government orders. On the demolition of Hucchagani Mahadevappa temple in Nanjangud, he said, “The government has sought a report from us.”
Recently, the Hindu Jagaran Vedike had announced that it will launch a protest against Mysuru district administration officials on September 16. Senior JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy said, “In the name of Supreme Court order, Mysuru administration is gearing up to demolish 92 temples. BJP is behind this. If the government decides, it can stop demolitions. Let the government file an affidavit before the Supreme Court and call an all-party meeting.”
In 2009, the Supreme Court had ordered the demolition or relocation of illegal religious structures in public places. In 2019, the Karnataka High Court took up a suo motu petition to supervise the state government’s implementation of the apex court order. Last year, the High Court had rapped the state government for not implementing the Supreme Court’s order.
46 places of worship to be removed in Belagavi, says DC
Belagavi Deputy Commissioner MG Hiremath on Tuesday said that there are 46 places of worshi situated over roads in Belagavi city limits that have been identified for removal. Among these, 17 have already been removed, the DC said. “We are taking all precautions to remove and relocate these temples, ensuring that they don’t suffer any damage duirng the process,” Hiremath said.