Let trustees leave the mutt first, Karnataka seer Vachanananda Swamiji demands

Harihar (Davanagere): "There is a huge group of devotees on my side. I have built the mutt in the best way in eight years. Not me, let the trustees leave the mutt first," said Vachanananda Swamiji of Veerashaiva Lingayat Panchamasali Gurupeeth.

He spoke to media before the accounts presentation meeting, organised by Veerashaiva Lingayat Panchamasali Gurupeeth Trust, on Monday in the premises of the mutt near Harihar.

"The trustees forced me to come to the mutt and made me sit on the Peetha. When we took over eight years ago, there was nothing in the mutt. We gave the mutt a form and made thousands of devotees come to the mutt. How can we throw them out of the mutt now?" he said.

He clarified that he will not leave the mutt for any reason. "I have grown up in a poor Panchamasali farmer family. I don't accept the accusation that I am living a luxurious life in the mutt. If I had followed VIP culture, would ordinary devotees have come to the mutt on my behalf?" he questioned.

He said there has been a huge corruption in the Guru Peetha Trust. "The first Guru of the Peetha, Mahant Shivacharya Swamiji, had also asked for the accounts. For the same reason, Siddalinga Shivacharya Swamiji was expelled from the mutt."

"Now, an attempt is being made to expel me from the mutt because the devotees asked for the accounts. This will not succeed," he said. He claimed that after Honnaliya Rajkumar was appointed as the administrator of the mutt, the administration was going well.

"The administrator is developing the mutt well. The sense of arrogance among the trust members who have never invited him to their homes and performed pada puja after coming to the Peetha has increased," he said.

"The Backward Classes and Minorities Department released a grant of Rs 10 crore on January 18, 2021 for the construction of a hostel in the mutt. The Trust members have misused the money by using fake signatures. The hostel building has not even been completed," he complained.

"We will not attend the accounts presentation meeting. We do not accept the accounts given by the Trust. Let it be fair accounts

Tense atmosphere in the mutt

Tension prevailed on the premises of the mutt as the accounts presentation meeting was organised by the Veerashaiva Lingayat Panchamasali Gurupeeth Trust on Monday.

The police said security has been beefed up on the premises of the mutt.