Bengaluru, Jan 13, 2020: Hindu organizations in Karnataka’s Kanakapura town on January 13 took out a protest rally against the construction of a Jesus Christ statue in a village.
Around 1,000 members of the Hindu Jagaran Vedike (Hindu awakening forum) and two other groups staged the rally alleging that the statue is being built on a government land a senior Congress leader gifted to a church.
Kanakapura, about 40km southwest of Bengaluru towards Mysuru, is the assembly constituency of D.K. Shivakumar and a part of the Lok Sabha constituency of his brother D.K. Suresh Kumar of the Congress.
A Hindu leader alleged Shivakumar gifted the 10-acre land, meant for grazing, on December 25 to a church trust without the state government’s consent.
A 100-ft Jesus statue on a 13-ft pedestal is being planned Herobele village.
State Revenue Minister R Ashoka transferred Kanakapura tahisildar Anandaiah on December 30 for facilitating the land transfer to the church trust without Deputy Commissioner’s approval.
The right-wing organizations are against the statue in the village which is on the foothills of Kapali betta (hill), which is considered sacred by the Hindus, as god Kapali is said to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
The statue project has been put on hold pending inquiry.
The greens also opposed granting a part of the 230-acre grazing land to the trust, as it is against a revised notification the state government issued in 2007 to prevent encroachment.
Defending his gesture to gift the land for building the statue, Shivakumar told reporters that the previous JD-S-Congress government had granted him the land for development activities as he was the legislator from the local area.
“I have gifted similar lands to Hindu organizations also in the past for building temples, community halls, schools and hospitals, as I believe in equality of all religions,” said Shivakumar.
Source: outlookindia.com