BENGALURU: A fight has erupted between the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress over a tender called by the Muzrai Department for watching maintaining a shoe stand for visiting devotees at Basavanagudi’s Dodda Ganapathi Temple.
While the tender process has since been suspended, it has sparked off a political slugfest. Taking the attack to the BJP, the Congress on Thursday claimed that the tender mandates that the job of watching over the footwear of visiting devotees be reserved for Dalits.
Amid accusations by the Congress on Thursday that the ruling party was practising untouchability, the BJP hit back accusing the erstwhile Siddaramaiah government of calling for similar tenders.
While all other tenders for Muzrai temples are for general category, the one for shoe keeping is reserved for the Dalits, said party MLA Priyank Kharge, who is also the son of veteran Dalit leader and Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge.
In a tweet, the MLA claimed that the BJP government was practising untouchability by reserving the job of watching the devotees’ footwear for Dalits.
Responding to the allegation, the BJP’s Karnataka unit said the proposal was thoroughly reviewed and the order passed. They claimed the Congress was in power when a notification on the order was issued. Siddaramaiah was the chief minister at the time, the saffron camp alleged.
While the BJP said the government has rolled back the order, it questioned why Priyank Kharge was silent when the order confining Dalits to watch over footwear at the temple was issued when the Congress was in power.
Muzrai minister Sasikala Jolle, however, conceded that the tender should not have been announced in the manner it was. “The order was published in 2016. Officials said such a system of watching over devotees’ footwear was in place earlier. A notice will soon be issued to the officer who called for the tender,” the minister said, adding that action will be taken to avoid any recurrence of the controversy.
What is the controversy?
There is a convention calling for members of the Dalit community to participate in the tender called by the management board of the Dodda Ganapati temple. In the tender that was invited to watch over footwear of the devotees, it was mentioned that only those belonging to Scheduled categories should participate. However, tenders for the sale of puja items, right to pick cattle and the sale of fresh water are reserved for the general category.
The tender was withdrawn in the face of fierce criticism. The management board of the temple has made an announcement that the tendering process had been suspended. The Muzrai Department’s tehsildar has now shot off a notice to the management board asking them to explain why they called the tender in such a manner. (ANI)