The Hindu : Karnataka News : CPI(M) wants court orders on Datta Jayanti followed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

CPI(M) wants court orders on Datta Jayanti followed

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, DEC. 20. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has opposed the plan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bajrang Dal to organise Shoba Yatra and conduct `homa' during the Datta Jayanti celebrations at Bababudangiri in Chikmagalur district from Friday.

Addressing a press conference here today, G.N. Nagaraj, secretary, CPI(M), State Committee, said Shoba Yatra, Datta Male and homa were not religious practices associated with the Sufi dargah at Bababudangiri. They were part of the "political activities of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar."

`Ban illegal practices'

The BJP leaders were attempting to disturb the communal harmony in the district in the name of Datta Jayanti. The Government should not succumb to the BJP leaders' threats, he said and urged it to ban what he termed illegal practices at Bababudangiri.

Mr. Nagaraj urged the Government to publish a list of practices that prevailed at the shrine prior to 1975 as ordered by the Endowment Commissioner in the context of court decisions. At an all-party meeting called by the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, recently, the Government had promised to uphold the decisions of the High Court and the Supreme Court and to permit only those ceremonies that were observed prior to 1975, he said.

The BJP MLA C.T. Ravi's reported statement questioning the authority of the Deputy Commissioner to decide on the observances at the shrine are unacceptable to the people of the State and is aimed at disturbing the law and order situation in Chikmagalur, he said.

The CPI(M) supported the Statewide "Save Bababudangiri traditions" campaign launched by various organisations. He appealed to secular forces to expose the false propaganda unleashed by the BJP.

Govt. urged to clarify

Our Gulbarga Special Correspondent reports:

The CPI(M) today urged the Government to clarify whether the High Court ruling on the observation of the Datta Jayanti celebrations would be followed.

Maruti Manpade and S.Y. Gurushant, members of the party's State Committee, told presspersons that the High Court judgment in 1988 said that only the religious practices followed for performing the Datta Jayanti prior to 1975 should be observed and no new religious practices and customs should be allowed. The Government should ensure that the court directions are not violated.

Mr. Manpade and Mr. Gurushant said that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and the BJP in the State have no respect for judicial verdicts and have made clear their intentions of violating the High Court directions to gain political mileage by whipping up communal tension in Chikmagalur.

Mr. Gurushant, who was a member of the CPI(M) team that participated in the all-party meeting called by the Chief Minister, said that the party did not seek a ban on the Shoba Yatra and the Chaitanya Yatra. It only wanted the Government to ensure that the participants did not create communal ill will.

Order welcomed

Mr. Gurushant welcomed the order issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Chikmagalur district that the directions issued by the High Court would be implemented fully and no new religious practices would be allowed.

He said the CPI(M) and other Left parties and social organisations will resist any move by the Sangh Parivar elements to disturb the peace at Bababudangiri in the name of observing Datta Jayanti.

The party will start an awareness campaign on the issue throughout the State from Tuesday, he added.

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