Will CM Siddaramaiah end his 12-year stand-off with Udupi Sri Krishna mutt?
- CM Siddaramaiah is expected to join President Pranabh Mukherjee to Udupi on june 18
- Siddaramaiah is said to have not honoured "many" invitations extended by the influential mutt
- The controversial demolition of Kanaka Gopura had kept the chief minister away from the mutt
FollowAll eyes are on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as he is expected to join President Pranabh Mukherjee to Udupi on June 18. While President Mukherjee's visit to Sri Krishna Mutt and temple is confirmed, it is not yet clear whether Siddaramaiah too will visit the temple and end his 12-year stand-off with the much-revered pilgrim centre. For, Siddaramaiah has consciously stayed away from paying a visit to the temple and the mutt following a controversy erupted over the Kanaka gopura (tower) in 2005.
It is said that an official invitation has been sent by the Udupi Sri Krishna mutt but it is unlikely that chief minister would visit the temple. Paryaya Pejawar seer Sri Vishveshatheertha swamiji told mediapersons here that "I have invited Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to visit the Sri Krishna mutt/temple on June 18 when President Pranabh Mukherjee would be here. But it is up to him to come to the temple."
"We have not done anything that would antagonise the chief minister. In fact, we have met couple of times when he visited Mangaluru, Bengaluru and even in Mysuru. He had also received prasad from after the Varuna bypolls. Yet, he has not visited the mutt. Repeated invitations to the chief minister has not been honoured by him and he alone knows the reason," the seer added, reports Vijaya Karnataka.
It is a known fact that Siddaramaiah along with other leaders of the Kuruba community had opposed the demolition of Kanaka gopura - said to have been built by late Vidyapurna Theertha of Krishnapur Mutt - inside the Sri Krishna temple. It was in a dilapidated condition and it was demolished. But this did not go well with Kuruba leaders who were joined by Siddaramaiah in strongly opposing this.
According a report in Deccan Chronicle, Siddaramaiah then the deputy commissioner in the coalition government led by CM Dharam Singh had demanded to take over the Sri Krishna mutt. Later, the gopura was apparently built in 2004-05 where the old structure once stood and named after Sri Kanakadasa and it is located above the Kanakanakindi, reports The Hindu. "There is no reason for Siddaramaiah to get upset over the Kanaka gopura issue. The gopura which once stood above the Kanakana Kindi did not bear the name as Kanaka gopura. Yet, the new gopura has been named after the saint poet and Kanaka jaynati is also celebrated," observed Sri Vishveshatheertha seer.
Sri Krishna mutt in Udupi is one of the influential mutts in the state. Expectations are high on Siddaramaiah that he would not skip this time, at least as some Congress leaders claimed. However, one has to wait till Sunday.
