DKS settling personal scores: Iskcon Chief
Bangalore, Jun 11 (DC): A day after Iskcon filed a defamation suit against KPCC working president D.K. Shivakumar, president of the institution Madhu Pandit Dasa alleged that the former minister was venting his personal anger at Iskcon. He said Mr Shivakumar joined hands with Mumbai Iskcon, which has a running dispute with Bengaluru Iskcon adding the former minister was unhappy after Iskcon bought land on Kanakapura Road during a government auction.
“Shivakumar had said Iskcon was doing real estate business. Iskcon Charities and India Heritage Foundation are two separate entities. India Heritage Foundation was engaged in a housing project to raise funds to set up the Krishna Lila Theme Park on Kanakapura Road. It has been cleared by the state high-level committee as a tourism project. The trust has filed returns before the I-T department and obtained the registration for exemption on the charitable trust’s income,’’ he said.
The trust had won the bid for the land at Kanakapura which did not go down well with Mr Shivakumar, he claimed.
The Mumbai Iskcon is also involved in this, he added. “It is a shame for us, but Mumbai Iskcon officials were waiting to depose before the inquiry committee. We are not happy with Shivakumar being on the committee and we have made a representation to the Speaker as well as the panel chief regarding this matter,” Dasa said. He also said the National Committee for Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare under Ministry of Finance has authenticated the Akshaya Patra scheme. “In 2003, we applied to the National Committee for Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare. This committee is headed by the former Chief Justice of India and on examining our programme, Akshaya Patra was recommended as an eligible project by this committee to raise donations up to Rs 22 crore and the scheme was reviewed in 2006 and the limit for donations was extended Rs 100 crore,” he said.
“In 2009, the Akshaya Patra programme was reviewed for the third time and being satisfied with the implementation of the programme, the committee further extended the limit of donations to Rs 200 crore and the tax exemption benefit to the donors for another three years,” he said.
I’ve evidence of land encroached: DKS
Urging the state government to “arrest” Iskcon’s governing body commissioners Madhu Pandit Dasa and Chanchalapathi Dasa, Congress MLA D.K. Shivakumar said they have not just broken the law by collecting donations under the Akshaya Patra scheme, but also encroached upon 61 acres of government land in Mandya district.
Shivakumar at a press conference on Thursday countered Iskcon’s media brief earlier in the day and the defamation case filed against him. He said that he, as part of the House Committee constituted by the government to investigate into the Akshaya Patra scheme run by Iskcon, had enough evidence to prove that the spiritual organisation had violated norms.
“There is absolutely no provision for Iskcon or any other NGO associated with the mid-day meal programme to collect donations as the programme is completely funded by the state and Central governments. Nowhere on its website has Iskcon mentioned that it is a state programme and outsourced to it for execution,” he added. Mr Shivakumar produced documents of land encroachment of 61.21 acres by Iskcon in Mahadevapura in Mandya. He also alleged that he and his friends were being threatened by Iskcon.