The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken exception to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s reported statement that the government would consider bringing the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple and Gokarna Temple under the Muzrai Department.
Addressing presspersons here on Friday, BJP MLC Ashwathnarayan said that such a measure would give rise to unnecessary confusion among people. Instead of creating unwanted confusion, the Chief Minister should change his stand, he demanded.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who was earlier in the forefront of a campaign seeking to bring the Udupi Sri Krishna temple under government control, had recently told a magazine that he would consider bringing the above two temples under the Muzrai Department as he felt that both of them belonged to the people. Later, he had also clarified to mediapersons that the spirit of his statement was to examine the procedures under which the above two temples had been handed over to religious maths by the previous BJP government.
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Mr. Ashwathnarayan also took exception to the decision by the Congress government to shun some of the flagship programmes and prominent decisions of the erstwhile BJP government, including the formation of 43 new taluks. The decision to halt the formation of new taluks, most of which had been planed in north Karnataka, was a blow to decentralisation of administration, he maintained. Similarly, he opposed the statement by the Chief Minister to withdraw the anti-cow slaughter Bill and described it as being insensitive to the sentiments of majority people. He demanded that the government should change it’s decision on the issue.
He demanded that the Chief Minister should change the portfolio of Wakfs Minister Qamar-ul Islam, who has been accused of misappropriating wakf property. His other demand was to drop the plan to produce cheap liquor.