JOIN USThe Siddaganga Mutt in the city has decided to drop its proposed Rs 12-crore project to instal the tallest ‘Koti Shivalinga’ on its premises.
Sources said the controversy over the project and its politicisation had upset the Mutt authorities, forcing them to give up the project.
The committee, set up to execute the project, comprised BJP State president K S Eshwarappa as its chairperson. Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda had laid the foundation stone for the project on Shivaratri day.
Not inviting former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa for the foundation laying ceremony had invited criticism from some quarters, sparking off a controversy.
Following the programme, Yeddyurappa had alleged that efforts were being made to divide the Veerashaiva community.
The former chief minister had also written to seer of the Mutt, Shivakumara Swami, in this regard. Mutts considered close to Yeddyurappa had pressured the Siddaganga Mutt not to allow the installation of the Shivalinga.
They had also appealed to the Mutt not to give room for any programme on its premises that kept Yeddyurappa out.
It is said that Shivakumara Swami came to the decision that the Shivalinga should not be installed for political motives.