BENGALURU: The BJP has demanded that Deputy CM and KPCC President DK Shivakumar tender an apology to people for stating that Mysuru’s Chamundi Hills, which houses the Chamundeswari Temple, is not the property of Hindus alone.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka said the government has insulted Hindus and Hinduism, be it with the Dharmasthala issue or the Chamundi Temple. “The Mysuru Wadiyars worship Goddess Chamundeshari as their family deity. What is government trying to show by saying that this does not belong only to Hindus. The government will not say mosques or churches belong to everyone, but stresses that Hindu temples belong to all. They should apologise,’’ he said.
Pointing to late poet Nisar Ahmed who wrote the Nityotsava poem referring to Kannada as mother, Ashoka said there is no comparison between Booker winner Banu Mustaq and Nisar Ahmed. “Nisar never spoke to about Hindu religion. When Banu was invited for Dasara festival, they say Chamundeshwari is inviting Banu, but will any mosque invite her?’’ he said.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra demanded that Shivakumar take his words back. “Shivakumar is trying to please the Gandhi family as he is eying to become chief minister. His statement on Chamundi Temple is nothing but an insult to the entire Hindu community,” he said. “Why did the government invite only Banu Mustaq who won the Booker prize. Deepa Bhasti also co-winner of the prize. Why did the government not invite her?”
No objection to Banu: HDK
Former CM and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy said he has no objection to writer Banu Mushtaq being invited for the Dasara inauguration. “Some are speaking with arrogance. There was no need for make this a religious issue,” he said.
PRAMODA FLAGS ‘INSENSITIVE’ STATEMENTS
MYSURU: Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family expressed displeasure at politics finding its way around the sacred Chamundeshwari temple. “The choice of dignitary invited to inaugurate this year’s ‘Nada Habba’ has given rise to conflicting opinions. Insensitive statements such as Chamundeshwari Temple does not belong to Hindus was both unnecessary and avoidable.
If it were not a Hindu temple, it would never have been brought under the Muzrai Department in the first place,” she said. She noted that the state, by its nature, cannot claim religious sanctity, sampradaya, or parampare in conducting such a festival.
“It is clear that the celebrations organised by the Government of Karnataka are not religious in nature and they simply coincide with the Navaratri celebrations, including Vijayadashami, whereas we continue to observe these dharmic rituals privately, in accordance with age-old religious customs and traditions,” she said.