By IANS,
Bangalore : The new BJP government in Karnataka headed by Jagadish Shettar was Friday caught in a row over advising temples across the state to perform special “pooja, homa and havan” (various Hindu rituals) for rain.
Each of the 34,000 temples under the government’s Muzrai (religious) department can spend up to Rs.5,000 from the funds collected by them on these special rituals, says the department in an official circular sent out to temple authorities Thursday.
The new Muzrai minister, Kota Srinivas Poojary justified the move, saying the government was not spending any money.
He told reporters that he has appealed to mosque and church authorities also to pray for rains, and hence there was no justification to criticise the move.
The circular suggests that special “pooja, homa and havan” be conducted in the last week of July and first week of August.
The government’s advisory came in for sharp attack in the assembly Friday from the opposition Janata Dal-Secular and Congress, which said this was an attempt to fool the people.
The issue was raised by JD-S leader H.D. Revanna during the debate on the drought situation. He ridiculed the move and said the government cannot cover up its failure to tackle the drought by organising these rituals.
The government has declared 150 of the 176 talukas (revenue subdivisions) as drought-hit and has urged the central government to provide an immediate grant of Rs.2,000 crore for relief work.
Shettar, who took over as the BJP’s third chief minister in four years last Thursday, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in New Delhi early this week, pleading for central assistance.
Congress leader Siddaramaiah, who initiated the debate Thursday, said the BJP government was more involved in infighting than on administration and has done precious little to tackle the worst drought the state is facing in over 40 years.