CM, minister hit back after K’taka BJP post on appointing Muslim to Hoskote temple committee

BENGALURU: The BJP state unit and the Congress government engaged in an online spat on the social media platform X on Wednesday over the appointment of a Muslim on the Brahmarathotsava committee of the Avimukteshwara Swami Temple in Hoskote.

In a post on its official X handle, the BJP state unit said, “Congress appointed ‘Nawaz’ to oversee the Brahmotsavam event at the Shri Avimukteshwara Swamy Temple in Hoskote. After attempting to loot our temples, the Hindu-hating CM Siddaramaiah now seeks to control temples and their resources by appointing non-Hindus”.

“Congress govt in Karnataka appears to be in a hurry to implementing Rahul Gandhi’s delusional ideas of stripping Hindus of their rights, to favour one particular community. Today it’s just one temple in Karnataka, tomorrow it might be every temple in India. Beware of Congress!”, the post read.

However, after Endowments Minister Ramalinga Reddy and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah pointed out that Muslim members had been appointed to the temple committee even during the BJP rule, the X post by the BJP state unit was reportedly deleted.

Responding to the BJP post, Minister Ramalinga Reddy wrote, “The BJP4Karnataka is indulging in misinformation over the issue of inclusion of a Muslim member in Sri Avimukteswaraswamy Brahmarathotsava Committee of Hoskote. In fact appointing members of all communities in the committee is a long standing tradition in the temple”.

“Even when the BJP government was in power in the state, Mr. @MTBNagaraj who was the then minister, had made an officer as a member of the Shri Avimukteswara Swami Brahmarathotsava Committee for the year 2022. Even in the 2020-21 committee, this same BJP seems to have forgotten that Imtiaz Pasha was made a member. It would be better if the BJP opened all the lists of the previous period and behaved a little prudently”.

“The BJP, which are always on the prowl like vultures, sowing hatred towards other religions by inciting the Hindu community for political gains, is destroying social fabric by sharing false information. When will you stop trying to find stones even in curds?” Ramalinga Reddy wrote.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also posted on X, “@BJP4Karnataka, why continue misleading the public and getting caught in your own web of lies? Proudly, you pointed fingers at the Congress government for appointing a member from the Muslim community to the Hoskote Avimukteshwara Swamy Temple’s Brahmotsava Committee”.

“Weren’t members from the Muslim community appointed to the same committee under your administration in 2020 and 2022? This temple has always embraced all religions in its festivities, reflecting the inclusive spirit of Hindu tradition”.

“To all BJP leaders, if there’s any honor left, I urge you to retract your divisive statements and apologize to the secular people of Karnataka. Heal from the myopia of saffron-tinted vision and strive for a truly inclusive society”, the CM posted.