The Hindu : Karnataka / Mysore News : `Govt. will abide by court verdict on Krishna temple'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mysore

`Govt. will abide by court verdict on Krishna temple'

By Our Staff Correspondent

The Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, speaking to the former Minister H. Vishwanath at the venue of the 13th coronation anniversary celebrations of the seer of Sri Kaginele Maha Samsthan Kanaka Guru Peetha, Sri Beerendra Keshava Tarakananda Swamij i. The Myore MP, C.H. Vijayshankar (left), is seen. — Photo: M.A. Sriram

MYSORE, FEB. 8. The Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, on Tuesday said that the State Government will abide by the directions of the high court with respect to the controversy over the Sri Krishna Temple in Udupi.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that since the case was pending before the high court, the Government would wait for the directions before arriving at a decision.

The Government was trying to vacate the stay brought by the Ashta Mutts with regard to the status of the temple, he added.

When asked why the district administration did not take any legal action if the demolition of the Kanaka Gopura was found to be illegal, he said that since the mutts were established maths, steps had to be initiated carefully.

On his participation at the inauguration of the new gopura, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, "I will take part in the function as a representative of the Government since the temple belongs to it."

Petition

Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the confusion over the ownership of the temple persisted. He said that the records available proved that it belonged to the Government.

The Supreme Court also gave a verdict that the temple came under the definition of Madras Act 1945, and that it belonged to the public. Nowhere in its judgement did the Apex Court state that the temple belonged to mutts, he added.

He said that the Ashta Mutts had petitioned the Government seeking the possession of the temple from Muzrai Department. He pointed out that the very fact that a petition had been made meant that the temple did not belong to them.

"The truth is that there was a Kanaka Gopura at the temple and the Ashta Mutts demolished it to build a new one. This was done without seeking permission from the authorities concerned. Besides, they have also argued that it was not the Kanaka Gopura," Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

Coronation

Mr. Siddaramaiah announced that the 13th anniversary of the coronation of the seer of Sri Kaginele Maha Samsthana Gurupeetha, Sri Beerendra Keshava Tarakanandapuri Swamiji, will be celebrated from Wednesday in Mysore.

A series of cultural and religious programmes have been organised as part of the celebrations.

He said that followers of the peetha from across the State were expected to participate. The organisers of the festival have arranged boarding and lodging facilities for them. He said that the convention was of non-political with the theme being social justice, Indian traditions, and contemporary changes in society.

The coronation function on Thursday will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, he said. A host of political leaders belonging to the Kuruba community were expected to take part in the function.

Seminar

Mr. Siddaramaiah said that a seminar on "Backward classes and contemporary politics" has been organised, which will be inaugurated by the former Union Minister, V. Sreenivas Prasad. The former chairman of Karnataka Backward Classes Commission, Raviverma Kumar, will preside over the seminar.

He also said that experts, including Baraguru Ramachandrappa and Gowri Lankesh, will participate in the seminar.

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