Bengaluru, June 1 (IANS): After facing flak, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday clarified that he had only said that black magic rituals took place near a Kerala temple and not inside it.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, “My statement has been misconstrued. I never said that the black magic ritual ‘Shatru Bairavi Yagna’ against me and the Chief Minister was performed in the Raja Rajeshwara temple in Kerala. I had mentioned the rituals took place in a private land near the temple.”

He was replying to the statement by a Kerala Minister that animal sacrifice does not take place in Kerala temples.

“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 indicate the location of the black magic rituals,” 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.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar stated on Thursday that political opponents were performing black magic through ‘Aghoris’ and ‘tantriks’ at a temple in Kerala against him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He had said that he had credible information that a yagna (special worship) was conducted by ‘Aghoris’ in an isolated place near the Raja Rajeshwara temple in Kerala.