Shobha Yatre held in Chickmagalur

The controversial Shobha Yatre was taken out by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists in Chikmagalur town on Saturday evening ahead of the annual Datta Jayanthi celebrations scheduled to take place on December 4 at the disputed cave shrine of Bababudangiri.

Hundreds of Sangh Parivar activists, sporting saffron flags, marched through main thoroughfares of the town along with an idol of Dattatreya. After offering prayers at the Kamadhenu Ganapathi Temple, the marchers sang hymns and proceeded to the Bolarameshwara Temple, where the procession concluded.

The general public lined up on both sides of the road to watch the controversial procession, which the BJP was adamant on taking out this year. The procession passed off peacefully, much to the relief of the district administration, which had set several conditions before giving permission for the event in the communally sensitive town.

The BJP, which is in power in Karnataka for the first time during the Datta Jayanthi celebrations, went ahead with the controversial Shobha Yatre amid concerns expressed by its coalition partner JD (S).

However, the Government’s permission for Shobha Yatra came under severe fire from the Opposition Congress. The Shobha Yatra, which is a new ritual sought to be introduced by the Sangh Parivar, would vitiate the atmosphere in the region and provoke communal conflict, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President M Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters.

The JD (S)-BJP Government’s permission for Shobha Yatra was a fallout of a “trade-off” between coalition partners JD (S) and BJP, Kharge said. “Under a pact, the JD (S) would receive the BJP’s unstinted support for its candidate in the by-polls to Chamundeshwari constituency while the JD (S) will not oppose the Shobha Yatre”, he said.

Meanwhile, the police arrested a total of 130 activists belonging to Communal Harmony Forum in Chickmagalur for protesting against the grant of permission for the Shobha Yatre.

The police arrested the Communal Harmony Forum activists led by journalist Gauri Lankesh when took out a counter rally called “Harmony Walk”. “They have been arrested for attempting to disturb peace”, police officials said.

The arrest of the Communal Harmony Forum activists triggered state-wide protests with the representatives of Forum’s units in Bangalore, Udupi and other places demanding the immediate release of the activists.