BJP seeks apology from Deputy CM Shivakumar for Chamundi Hill remarks

Bengaluru, Aug 28 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday sought an apology from Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for stating that Goddess Chamundeshwari and Chamundi Hills do not belong to Hindus alone.

A row has erupted in Karnataka after the state government invited Booker Prize-winning writer Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate Mysuru Dasara festival, with the BJP opposing the idea.

The saffron party alleged that the literateur had insulted Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, another form of Goddess Chamundeshwari, in her 2023 speech, where she is heard saying that it is exclusionary for her to install Kannada language as Goddess Bhuvaneshwari and drape her in turmeric and vermillion.

Reacting to the BJP’s objection, Shivakumar had said on Tuesday that Chamundi Hills and the Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple is atop the hill, do not belong to Hindus alone but all communities.

He also said that people from all faiths are invited there since the temple belongs to the state government’s religious endowment department.

Addressing reporters here, Ashoka alleged Congress has been hurting the Hindu sentiments, which started with ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ sloganeering on the Vidhana Soudha corridors.

"D K Shivakumar has said that Goddess Chamundeshwari is not the property of Hindus. Is it Waqf Board property? Give it in writing," Ashoka said.

The former minister said that the Mysuru Maharajas, the successors of Yadu lineage, had been worshipping Goddess Chamundeshwari as their family deity and the temple is a ‘Shakti Peetha’, a holy site dedicated to Goddess Parvati.

Despite these facts, the Congress government has stood up to appease Muslims by saying that Chamundi Hill and Chamundeshwari do not belong to Hindus, he charged.

Ashoka said, "I demand an apology from Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. He has clearly stated that Chamundi Hills and Goddess Chamundeshwari are not the property of Hindus. If not Hindus then whose property is it? You have insulted Goddess Chamundeshwari".

He sought to know whether the government treats Waqf properties and Christian properties as everyone’s property.

The BJP leader said Mysuru rulers continued the legacy of the Vijayanagara dynasty and started celebrating Dasara after the fall of the Vijayanagara empire due to the invasion by Muslim rulers.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for announcing that Banu Mushtaq will inaugurate the Dasara festival, Ashoka said why the state government did not find a single person from six crore Hindus residing in Karnataka.

"Did you get this woman (Mushtaq) alone? What is her history? She says that we (Hindus) have made Kannada a Goddess. Shame on you," the opposition leader said.

According to him, the 100 ft tall statue of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari Karnataka government has erected on the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha premises, spending crores of rupees is ‘Kannada Maate’ (Mother Kannada).

The mischief of Congress against Hindus has now stretched from Dharmasthala to Chamundi Hills, Ashoka charged. He was referring to the ongoing probe into the allegation of multiple rapes, murders, and burials in Dharmasthala over two decades. PTI GMS GMS ADB