‘My statement was misconstrued…’: Deputy CM on Kerala temple ‘black magic’ remark

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday clarified on his statement about “black magic rituals” in connection with a temple in Kerala and said that his remarks had been “misconstrued” when he said that the rituals were performed near the temple and not within it.

Speaking to reporters at the City Civil Courts, he said, “My statement has been misconstrued. I never said that the black magic ritual ‘Shatru Bhairavi yaaga’ against me and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was carried out in the Raja Rajeshwara temple in Kerala, but I had clearly mentioned the rituals took place on private land near the temple”.

I am a big believer and devotee of Devi Rajarajeshwari, and I know that ‘shathrusamharapooja’ is NOT performed in Rajarajeshwari temple. My words are being misconstrued, and so I would like to clarify that I was talking about this pooja being performed some 15kms away from… pic.twitter.com/kTNJyUYSu7

— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) May 31, 2024

The Deputy Chief Minister was replying to the statement by a Kerala minister that animal sacrifice doesn’t take place at any of the temples in Kerala. “I have great respect for God’s own country, its temples and the people. My statement has been misunderstood. I did not mean to hurt the sentiments of anyone. I had recently visited the Raja Rajeshwara temple and I am a devotee of the temple. I only referred to the temple to give an indication of the location of the black magic ritual”, he said.

“I would not like to talk about who is behind the black magic rituals. I only shared the details that I received. The Kerala minister has said that an inquiry would be ordered into the incident and I welcome that decision”, he said.

The Raja Rajeshwari Temple in Kerala on Friday refuted Shivakumar’s allegation that black magic rituals were being performed inside the premises to harm him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This comes after Shivakumar alleged on Thursday that rituals, including animal sacrifices, were taking place in the vicinity of the temple. The Congress leader claimed that he had knowledge of people who were carrying out these rituals, alleging they were from Karnataka.

Denying Shivakumar’s claims, a trustee of the temple board, said a temple should not be dragged into politics. (ANI)