Succumbing to pressure from Hindu right-wing groups, Karnataka government transfers official

Succumbing to the relentless pressure from Hindu right-wing groups such as the Hindu Jagarana Vedike who were demanding the transfer of Mohana Kumari, the Tahsildar of Nanjangud taluk in Mysuru district, the Karnataka Revenue Department issued a notification transferring her on September 27.

Activists of Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bhajrang Dal staging a protest against the Mahadevamma temple demolition at Mallikatta, Mangaluru, on September 16.

 

Succumbing to the relentless pressure from Hindu right-wing groups such as the Hindu Jagarana Vedike who were demanding the transfer of Mohana Kumari, the Tahsildar of Nanjangud taluk in Mysuru district, the Karnataka Revenue Department issued a notification transferring her on September 27. As the presiding official in the taluk, she had given the order for the demolition of the Mahadevamma temple in Uchagani village on September 8, as per a 2009 order of the Supreme Court that sought to remove all unauthorised religious constructions on public land.

After the demolition, the district administration and the State government had to face the ire of Hindu groups who protested against it. The Hindu Jagarana Vedike demanded the transfer of the concerned official (Mohana Kumari). Opposition political parties such as the Indian National Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarians such as Pratap Simha, Member of Parliament (MP) from Mysuru, also came down heavily on the State government.

As part of these protests, Dharmendra, Karnataka State secretary of the Akhila Bharata Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM), brazenly issued a death threat against Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai during a press conference in Mangaluru on September 18, accusing him of being anti-Hindu. “We did not even spare [Mahatma] Gandhi, who are you? Responding to the violence on Hindus, if we can murder Gandhi, do you think that we will hesitate to target you? Be careful Basavaraj Bommai, [former Chief Minister] Yediyurappa and [Muzrai Minister] Shashikala Annasaheb Jolle,” Dharmendra had said.

In the light of these developments, the State government swiftly issued a clarification laying the blame on the district administration who “misunderstood the court’s order” and assuring the residents of Uchagani that the temple would be reconstructed soon. Mohana Kumari has been transferred to Bengaluru, where she will be monitoring the IMA (I-Monetary Advisory) multi-crore scam.