Affirming the commitment of Bharatiya Janata Party in the values espoused by reformer Narayana Guru, BJP district vice-president Harikrishna Bantwal on Wednesday said non-participation of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in the State-level Jayanti of the reformer in Mangaluru on September 10 does not amount to showing disrespect to the reformer.
Reacting to the statement of former Bantwal MLA B. Ramanath Rai, Mr. Bantwal told reporters that it is not necessary for the Chief Minister to participate in all Jayantis. “District In-charge Minister (V. Sunil Kumar) led the Narayana Guru Jayanti in Mangaluru in which people from across the communities participated. It is not possible for Chief Minister to participate in all Jayantis,” he said. The programme was not held at Kudroli Gokarnanateshwara temple founded by Narayana Guru as there were lot of pre-scheduled rituals and programmes related to Jayanti at the temple.
In a press conference recently, Mr. Rai said non-participation of Chief Minister in Narayana Guru Jayanti in Mangaluru was akin to showing disrespect to the great reformer.
Mr. Bantwal said Mr. Rai has no moral authority to accuse BJP of showing disrespect for Narayana Guru as he and other Congress leaders have shown scant regard for the reformer in the past. Mr. Bantwal said Mr. Rai supported the Congress councillors who opposed the Mangaluru City Corporation’s move to name Lady Hill Circle after Narayana Guru. Mr. Rai was among the Congress leaders in the car of Siddaramaiah when the later as Chief Minister skipped attending the Mangaluru Dasara at Kudroli temple in 2016.
The Congress is trying to needlessly trying to create controversy regarding Narayana Guru, Mr. Bantwal said.
