Reacting to the ongoing controversy surrounding the issue of donation of Moorusavir Mutt land to the KLE Society, chairman of KLE Society and former Rajya Sabha member Prabhakar Kore on Wednesday has clarified that late seer of the mutt Gangadhara Rajayogindra Swami had voluntarily donated the mutt land to the society and had done so before the Charity Commissioner.
Addressing presspersons along with directors of the society and Mahanthesh Kavatagimath, MLC, and Shankrananna Munavalli in Hubballi on Wednesday, Mr. Kore categorically stated that KLE Society belonged to society and, through donations from mutts and individuals it had been able to set up educational institutions across the State.
Mr. Kore said that there was nothing illegal in the land donation by the late seer and that the seer had got the donation of 23.15 acres of land registered before the Charity Commissioner, Belagavi, in 2003 itself.
Mr. Kore clarified that the land donation was in no way related to the Arbitration Agreement reached between the present seer Gurusiddha Rajayogindra Swami and Rudramuni Swami of Tipatur.
“The donation was made by the seer before the Charity Commissioner and subsequently in 2009, we got the same registered before the Sub-Registrar to which the present seer signed. In no way the donation violates the arbitration agreement between the two seers,” he said.
Elaborating on the discussions preceding the land donation, Mr. Kore said that the society had in fact asked the seer to establish a medical college in Hubballi utilising the mutt’s land. “However the seer, in turn told us to establish the college and he would donate the mutt’s land, which at that point of time was in the possession of Asundi family (family of farmers). We convinced the Asundi family to hand over the possession of the land to the mutt. After much convincing, they handed over 23.15 acres out of the total 38 acres. Later the seer donated the land to KLE Society in 2003. However because of technicalities involved in getting various permissions from government the project got delayed,” he said.
To a query, he said that Sri Dingaleshwara Swami of Balehosur Mutt was misleading the public on the issue and the society had not done anything illegal.
Mr. Kore said he had not seen the face of the seer and sought to know in what way the seer was related to the issue. He clarified that a high-level committee of the Moorusavir Mutt was in no way related to the land donation.
Clarifying that there was no question of giving back the land, Mr. Kore said that they had already begun work on building the medical college and they would get it ready within one-and-a-half years and dedicate it to the service of residents of the region.
Mr. Kavatagimath condemned the tone and tenor of the speech of Dingaleshwara Swami on the issue and said it was unbecoming of a seer to speak in such language. “I would appeal to him to stop making such baseless allegations. And it is not right to claim the post of successor when the present seer was still willing to function as head of the mutt. It is for the society to decide on the issue,” he said.
To a query, Shankranna Munavalli, who is also a member of the high-level committee of Moorusavir Mutt, said that soon he would take up the issue with other members and make the stand clear. It might be recalled that former Minister Basavraj Horatti too has urged for a meeting of the committee in the wake of the row.
