Mandya (Karnataka), Dec 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) Clarifying his controversial statement about religious pontiffs interfering in politics, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday publicly apologised to Vokkaliga seer Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji.
He offered the apology with folded hands in the presence of the Adichunchanagiri seer Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji at the agricultural fair held at VC Farm in Mandya. The seer smiled and accepted the apology, while the crowd applauded and cheered for Kumaraswamy.
Kumaraswamy said, “If my earlier statement caused any kind of disrespect to the Swamiji, I publicly seek forgiveness. Our loyalty lies in our hearts; it need not be displayed outwardly. If I have committed any offence towards the revered Swamiji, I ask for forgiveness.”
Clarifying further, he said, “I only meant that such Swamijis should not be brought into these situations. I said it with the intention that they should not face any disrespect.”
Earlier, during the peak of the leadership tussle in Karnataka between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar, powerful Vokkaliga seer Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji had extended support to Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar.
The seer had stated that the Congress high command should consider Shivakumar’s contributions and take a decision to make him the Chief Minister. He also emphasised that the community itself wants to see Shivakumar in the CM’s position.
It may be noted that Deputy CM Shivakumar is the arch-rival of Kumaraswamy.
Shivakumar played an instrumental role in bringing Vokkaliga votes in south Karnataka—traditionally the core support base of the JD(S)—towards the Congress party in the last Assembly election. Both Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy belong to the Vokkaliga community.
Kumaraswamy, without taking the name of the seer, had stated, "Politicians should do politics, religious leaders should give up this temptation. He stated that Swami's intervention was not needed in the Congress internal conflict.
"Politicians should do politics, but religious leaders should give up the temptation of expressing opinions in favour of someone. Swamiji's intervention in the internal conflict of the Congress party is unnecessary. They have no role in it," he stated.
Expressing strong displeasure over the ongoing power struggle in the government, Kumaraswamy said, "I have been Chief Minister twice. I never sought the help of any pontiffs when I lost power. Politicians have their own work, and Swamijis have theirs. I won't speak about the Vokkaliga community or any other community. It's not good for anyone to misuse religious institutions for politics, citing caste and religion."
Kumaraswamy appealed to the religious leaders, "There should be no scope for caste conflict in society. No one should be responsible for it. I'm requesting the Swamijis to maintain peace and harmony in society. Don't drag caste and religion into politics. It's not good for the state."
He had further said, "Caste politics is happening on a large scale in the state. Those who do politics will not be affected, but the state will suffer a great loss. The Congress party's internal conflict is causing social conflict. This is not a shame for the Congress party, but for the people of Karnataka."
Kumaraswamy had said that even when he served twice as Chief Minister and later lost power, he had never sought help from pontiffs.
Source: IANS
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