Gowda shoots down BJP’s request for Shobha Yatra

JD (S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has firmly shot down a request from its coalition partner BJP to take out Shobha Yatra as part of the annual Datta Jayanthi celebrations atop the disputed hill shrine of Bababudangiri in Chickmagalur district.

“It is not possible to give any concession to the BJP just because it is a partner in the coalition Government in the State”, Gowda told reporters in Bangalore on Friday, pouring cold water on the BJP’s hopes for a change of heart in the JD (S) leadership over the controversial Shobha Yatra.

Gowda’s categorical rejection of the BJP’s request for Shobha Yatra is expected to cast a shadow on the longevity of the JD (S)-BJP coalition Government in Karnataka. For, barely 24 hours ago, the BJP’s state unit President D V Sadananda Gowda had told television channels that the party is firm on taking out Shobha Yatra this year. “There will be no change in our stand”, he had declared.

A co-ordination committee meeting of the two parties held recently failed to arrive at a final decision on the controversial Shobha Yatra issue.

During an interaction with reporters in Bangalore, Gowda was of the opinion that the devotees could have a darshan (viewing) of the deity in the cave shrine. “But, taking out a procession or Shobha Yatra to the hill shrine from Chickmagalur was a threat to law and order. The BJP will not be allowed to take out a Shobha Yatra”, he said.

Emphasizing the need for the Government to be fair and just to the minority community, Gowda said the BJP should stick to the common minimum programme of the coalition government, which had brought the two parties together.

Meanwhile, the BJP and Sangh Parivar activists had gathered in large numbers at Chikmagalur for the Datta Mala Abhiyan, which will conclude on October 8. The devotees attired in saffron robes and wearing the sacred thread were making trips to the cave shrine atop Bababudangiri hillock near Chickmagalur.

The district administration had imposed prohibitory orders in Chickmagalur and Bababudangiri and deployed additional security personnel in the twon with a view to preventing the Sangh Parivar activists from taking out a procession scheduled for Friday evening.

Though the controversial Shobha Yatra is scheduled to be held during the actual Datta Jayanthi celebrations in December, the Sangh Parivar activists were planning to take a procession from Chikmagalur on Friday evening during their ensuing Datta Mala Abhiyan.

Gowda’s son and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who is away in Mysore, told reporters that the Government would take an appropriate decision within the framework of the High Court order.