CHIKKAMAGALUR: In a significant development, the state government has appointed two Hindu priests to the Datta Peetha on Saturday evening, on the recommendation of the management board of the shrine. Srikant from Sringeri and Sandeep from Chikkaballapur are the new priests.
Hindu activists and BJP workers celebrated the announcement by distributing sweets and bursting firecrackers. In 2018, a moulvi was appointed as the head of the Datta Peetha, leading to a massive controversy.
Many Hindu activists cheered by shouting slogans over the appointment of new priests to Datta Peetha.
In its election manifesto in 2018, the BJP had announced that it will appoint Hindu priests to the shrine. After the party came to power, the shrine was brought under by the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department.