‘State govt will not declare holiday tomorrow, pray at temples’: Dy CM DK Shivakumar

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar indirectly hit back at the opposition leaders when media sought his reaction to the BJP’s demand to declare a holiday on Monday saying, “The state government will not announce a holiday for the ‘Pran Pratishta’ ceremony at the Ram Mandir Temple in Ayodhya”.

“We will not do anything for our devotion, our honour, or propogating our religion. We have feelings. No one asked us and there was no need to tell us. Our ministers have issued orders for the rituals to be performed in all the temples. We are doing what we need to do for the worship of God. We believe that our prayers will be rewarded. That is why we have asked everyone to pray”.

“The name ‘Rama’ is in Siddaramaiah’s name, ‘Shiva’ is in my name. There is no need to tell us and no one should pressure us. We will do our duty. There should be religion in politics, but there should be no politics in religion”, he added.

#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka: On Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya tomorrow, Leader of Opposition of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R. Ashoka says, "7 crore Kannadigas are demanding leave. Even AAP has announced a leave in Delhi, so why has Siddaramaiah not announced…… pic.twitter.com/g27o5bTgud

— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2024

Earlier, Opposition leader R Ashoka, speaking to the media, said, “Seven crore Kannadigas are demanding holiday for the Pran Pratishtha. Even AAP has announced a holiday in Delhi, so why has Siddaramaiah not announced a holiday? Everywhere in Karnataka, the police are threatening Kar Sevaks. I will write a letter to the CM demanding leave for 7 crore Kannadigas to celebrate Rama Pran Pratishta day.”