Ashok lashes out at Congress, threatens Chamundeshwari chalo agitation

Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok threatened to launch a Chamundeshwari chalo rally on the lines of the Dharmasthala one and lashed out at the Congress for “hurting the sentiments of Hindus”.

Speaking to presspersons after visiting Chamundeshwari temple on Sunday, Mr. Ashok accused the Congress government of ‘’deliberately targeting’’ Hindu places of worship.

Objecting to the remarks of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar that Chamundi Hills and the Chamundeshwari temple do not belong exclusively to Hindus, Mr. Ashok asked to whom they belonged.

“If it does not belong to Hindus, then whose temple is it?”, remarked Mr. Ashok who accused the Congress of indulging in “politics of appeasement”. The Congress resorts to such practices during elections but it is perpetuating it even now, he added.

He warned that if Chamundi Hills and the temple was made part of a “toolkit”, it would not be tolerated and predicted the downfall of the Congress. “If the sanctity of the Chamundeshwari temple was violated or questioned, we will fight and launch the Chamundeshwari chalo rally,” he said.

Continuing his objection to invite writer Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate Dasara this year, Mr. Ashok said she had insulted the State symbol and the deity associated with Kannada.

“If she rejects Bhuvaneshwari, how will she accept Chamundeshwari,” questioned Mr. Ashok. He reiterated the BJP’s demand that Ms. Mushtaq should apologise to Kannadigas before inaugurating Dasara.

Though there are 6 crore Hindus in the State, the government could not identify a single achiever among them or consider them fit to inaugurate Dasara, he remarked.

To a question, Mr. Ashok said poet K.S. Nissar Ahmed was invited to inaugurate Dasara as his poem Nityotsava is an ode to Karnataka and he respected the culture of the State and all traditions.