Cong hates saffron, alleges BJP after Sri Shivakumar Swamiji's portrait found lying in corridor outside Vidhana Soudha
The opposition BJP shared pictures of the portrait lying in a corridor outside the Vidhana Soudha and alleged that the Congress party “hates” saffron.
The ruling Congress in Karnataka is being accused of disrespecting Lingayat seer Sri Shivakumar Swamiji after pictures surfaced of several portraits including his and ex-chief ministers Basavaraj Bommai and HD Kumaraswamy lying in a corridor outside the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. The Congress is said to have removed these portraits after coming to power recently.
The opposition BJP shared pictures of the portraits lying in a window sill and called the Congress “arrogant”, alleging that the party “hates” saffron and has an enmity towards it. The Karnataka unit of the BJP, in a tweet, also demanded that CM Siddaramaiah ask for forgiveness from the people of Karnataka and hang up the portrait of the Lingayat seer with all respect due to him.
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“The height of arrogance! @INCKarnataka government hates saffron and has enmity towards it! It is an unpardonable crime to desecrate the portrait of the walking God, the Kayakayogi, the Trividhadasohi Param Pujaniya Dr. Sri Sri Sri Shivakumar Mahaswamiji by removing it from the Vidhana Soudha room and making it roll in the corridor! We demand that Chief Minister of Karnataka @siddaramaiah ask for the forgiveness of the people of the state and reattach the portrait of Pujya Swamiji with all due respect,” the Karnataka BJP posted.
The Congress party is yet to respond to the accusations. This comes even as the central leadership of the party, including senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi schedule frequent visits to the Siddaganga mutt, which is a spiritual centre for the prominent Veerashaiva-Lingayat community in the southern state.
Who was Sri Shivakumara Swamiji?
Sri Shivakumara Swamiji, who passed away in 2019 after a long battle with a lung infection in Tumkur, was a revered seer of the Lingayat faith and was also called the ‘walking god’. The seer passed away at 111 years old after being on ventilator support for a few weeks.
The Karnataka government had declared a three-day state mourning period and one day holiday for all schools, colleges and government offices in the state. His 100th birthday celebrations were attended by the then President A P J Abdul Kalam in April 2007.