The Hindu

Udupi, Mar 24: Deviprasad Shetty, president of Udupi district unit of Janata Dal (Secular), said on Monday that Vishwesha Tirtha Swamiji of Pejawar Math and other seers, who participated in the Hindu Samajotsava in Mangalore on March 15, should abdicate their positions as seers, join politics and contest in elections.

Mr. Shetty told presspersons here that the seers of Pejawar and other maths, who loved to have a role in politics, should do so directly. There was no point in seers politicising religion. The seers and the representatives of the State Government should come out with the reason for holding the Hindu Samajotsava after the schedules for the parliamentary elections were announced. The function, it appeared, was aimed at attracting votes. It was vote bank politics.

‘Tackle the issues’

Instead of tackling the issues such as caste and religious facing the Hindu society, the seers were keen on active roles in politics. “The best option for them will be to take tofull-time politics,” he said.

Group clashes

Mr. Shetty said that the Kaup group clashes were not pre-planned. The activists of Hindutva groups, who were returning from the samajotsava under the leadership of the managing trustee of a temple in Udupi district, had first attacked women of a community. They later gathered in front of a place of worship at Kaup and caused disturbances. This led to the stone throwing. “The organisers of the samjotsava should be held responsible for these acts,” he said.

The Janata Dal (S) wanted the guilty to be punished, irrespective of the community they belonged to. But, owing to a nexus between the police, the Government, and the sangh parivar, Muslims had been arrested and cases filed against them, Mr. Shetty said.

Claiming that he had the highest regards for the Pejawar seer since his childhood, he said the seer’s recent activities had stunned him. “If the Pejawar seer joins full-time politics, I will give him my full support,” Mr. Shetty said.