Karnataka   

Police prevent garlanding of statue

BASAVAKALYAN: Followers of Mathe Mahadevi were prevented by the police from garlanding the statue of 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara at Basavakalyan town on Tuesday after members of the Basaveshwara Devasthan Samiti objected to it.

There were some tense moments near Basaveshwara Chowk when the samiti members objected to the garlanding of the statue. As a precautionary measure, the police had erected a barrier around the chowk to prevent the followers of Mathe Mahadevi from coming close to the statue.

Earlier, her followers took out a procession from the Basavakalyan fort premises to the venue of “Kalyana Parva”. A procession carrying Vachana Sahitya and a portrait of Basaveshwara set out for Basaveshwara Chowk.

By the time the procession came near the chowk, the samiti members had assembled there to prevent them from garlanding the statue.

The police asked the followers of Mathe Mahadevi to go ahead with the procession without garlanding the statue. However, some followers of Mathe Mahadevi, Mathe Gangambike, Channabasavanand Swamiji and others were allowed to perform puja at “Parusha Katte”, which was used by Basaveshwara to address public grievances.

After the procession left Basaveshwara Chowk, Mathe Mahadevi joined the procession. Her followers said they had dropped the idea of garlanding the statue after she instructed them not to do so.

Later, speaking to presspersons, Mathe Mahadevi blamed the police for not allowing her followers to garland the statue. “Basaveshwara’s statue is a public property, and everybody has the right to garland it,” she said.

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