GADAG: Mr Siddaramaiah should take note of this—his government’s guarantee schemes are becoming a burden on mutts, according to a controversial claim made by Shirahatti Fakireshwar mutt’s Dingaleshwar seer.
The reason? More people are visiting mutts since bus facilities are free, and now mutts have to feed hundreds of devotees. And to lighten the burden, the seer has made a pitch to the government seeking more funds for Veereshwara Punyashrama, run by his mutt.
In his speech, the seer said the number of devotees has increased with the government providing free bus facilities and other guarantee schemes. He asked the government, in turn, to help the mutts.
The seer claimed that the State Government has been helping a few organisations in Bengaluru. The seer said it is the duty of the government to provide such facilities to them because the mutts are doing the work of the government.
The video of the seer’s speech went viral on social media and evoked mixed responses from devotees. Several devotees differed with the seer. “BPL cardholders are getting free rice, and they will not visit mutts to eat for free. The middle-class and the affluent will not stand in queues in mutts to eat meals or prasad. We have a special value for prasad, and many devotees will donate rice bags and other groceries to the mutt. Seers like Pandit Puttaraj Gavai and Panchaxari Gavai never talked like this even if they had faced very tough times.”
Dinagleshwar Seer had jumped into the electoral arena by filing nomination for Lok Sabha polls against Pralhad Joshi in 2024 but later withdrew his nomination. The seer also had given a statement that the mutt had to give 30% commission to get funds from the government three years ago.