Law and order will be maintained at Bababudangiri - Governor

Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur has assured to take all steps for maintenance of law and order at the disputed cave shrine of Bababudangiri in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka, where the Sangh Parivat outfits have planned to hold Datta Jayanthi celebrations.

“We will take all steps to ensure that the court’s directions are followed and peace is maintained at Bababudangiri”, Thakur told reporters after a delegation of Congress leaders led by former Minister D B Chandre Gowda met him and submitted a memorandum to ban the controversial Shobha Yatra planned as a precursor to the Datta Jayanthi celebrations.

The Congress delegation sought to bring to the Governor’s notice the efforts being made by the Sangh Parivar outfits to incite communal sentiments by carrying out a campaign for Datta Jayanthi celebrations.

Chandre Gowda told reporters that former Federal Minister and BJP MP Ananthakumar had declared at a recent rally in Chikmagalur that the party will declare Bababudangiri as Datta Peetha if it was voted to power. He added that the party would hold the Datta Jayanthi celebrations in a grand manner this year.

Though Datta Jayanthi is held in December, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists had decided to launch a “Datta Mala Abhiyan” to drum up support for its programme. The Shobha Yatra posed a threat to law and order in Chikmagalur, Chandre Gowda said.

He said the Sangh Parivar was determined to transform the Bababudangiri shrine, a Sufi dargah, that has for centuries been a place of common worship, into a Hindu temple, complete with idols and Brahmin priests.