Congress respects Hindu gods, temples unlike BJP: Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah was referring to a temple that was razed recently in Nanjangud in Mysuru for which the ruling BJP government faced flak

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said BJP leaders are “false Hindutva proponents” and said the Congress, on the other hand, had respect for Hindu gods and temples.

“They chant Lord Ram’s name, mislead people by building his temple, but here, they demolish temples,” Siddaramaiah told reporters, referring to a temple that was razed recently in Nanjangud in Mysuru for which the ruling BJP government faced flak.

“It has been proven that they [BJP leaders] are false Hindutva proponents. They used Hindutva only for votes. They have no respect for Hindutva, Hindu religion, Hindu gods and temples,” Siddaramaiah said. “Unlike them, we are not fakers. We have respect for gods, Rama and temples. We don’t use them for politics and votes,” he said.

Read | Karnataka CM Bommai halts temple demolition drive

He said there was no way the Mysuru deputy commissioner and tahsildar demolished the temple without a directive from the government. “It can’t be that the government didn’t know about it when the chief secretary had written [to deputy commissioners] on this. The government knew about this” he said.

Reacting to this, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister KS Eshwarappa said he was happy the Congress is showing concern for Hindu temples. “What the Mysuru DC did is wrong. He did not consult the minister concerned. The BJP believes in Bharatiya Samskruti. That’s why people elected the BJP,” he said.

Asked about the chief secretary’s letter asking DCs to act on the Supreme Court order to demolish unauthorized religious structures in public places, Eshwarappa said: “The SC order covers mosques and churches also. Why were only temples touched? I don’t know. I don’t want to get into this classification of religious structures. The BJP government will protect the structures of all religions. How we should do that will be discussed with the CM.”

Eshwarappa reiterated Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s directive to deputy commissioners on halting demolition of temples. “There’s panic among people. No official should make hasty decisions,” he said.

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