Bengaluru: A BJP MLA in Karnataka has warned of action against a call by Hindu activists to boycott Muslim traders from carrying out their businesses during the Subramaneshwara fair in Bengaluru.
The activists and the Bajrang Dal have demanded that only Hindu traders should be allowed to carry out business during the fair which sees the participation of thousands of devotees.
Uday B Garudachar, the MLA from Chickpet constituency, has clarified that there would not be any new rules because Hindu activists demand that people of all religions are permitted to carry out their businesses.
“Only allowing Hindu traders is not tenable. If anyone tries to create a problem in the fair, legal action will be initiated against them,” he added.
“We are elected representatives and got elected after getting votes of people belonging to all religions. There is no room for discrimination. The tradition which has been followed for years will be carried forward.”
Expressing their outrage against the decision, the Hindu activists argue that Hindu traders are not allowed to carry out business in the surrounding areas of mosques.
They have also challenged the MLA to allow Hindu traders to carry out business near mosques in his Assembly constituency.
Garudachar also said that action will be initiated if Hindu traders are not allowed to carry out business surrounding mosques in his constituency.
However, other parts of Bengaluru
Meanwhile, quite in contrast to Chikpet, Koppal district and parts of Dakishina Kannada and Kodugu districts are facing opposite situations.
The right-wing organisation, Hindu Jagran Vedike, has put up posters in and around Koppal district asking temple authorities of Anjanadri Betta not to allow non-Hindu stalls for the upcoming festival.
This is not the first time the Hindu extremist organisation is calling out such bans. Not a week ago, the organisation erected a poster in front of the Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Swami temple in Dakshina Kannada district asking non-Hindu shopkeepers to refrain from setting up stalls for the upcoming temple festival Champa Shashthi that falls on November 29.
Siasat.com got in touch with the temple’s executive officer in charge who said that they are not responsible for the poster. When asked if they plan to allow non-Hindu traders to set up their shops/stalls during the festival time, the officer said they were following the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Rules, 2002.
The Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Rules, 2002, allows only Hindu traders to set up stalls/shops during any community or temple festivals, thus banning non-Hindus.
“We are following state government rules,” the officer said.
(With IANS inputs)
