I’ll not hesitate to file criminal case to get back my ‘Presiding Deity’: Shiroor Swamiji
Shiroor (Hiriyadka): Lakshmivara Theertha Swamiji of Shiroor Mutt said that he would not hesitate to file a criminal case to get his Presiding Deity.
Speaking to reporters at Shiroor Mutt on Monday, the swamiji said that “Sri Krishna of the Sri Krishna Mutt is not my property. Sri Rama is not my property. But Anna Vittala is my property. If needed, I will not hesitate to file criminal case in the court to get my Presiding Deity back”, he said.
He gave a hint of taking a legal battle against the decision of Vidyadeesha Theertha Swamiji of Paryaya Palimaru Mutt, Pejawar Mutt swamiji and other swamijis who have denied returning the idol of Anna Vittala and others to Shiroor Swamiji.
“It is common practice that at the time of going to some places, people keep their valuables with their reliable persons and take them back once they returned home. If your reliable person declined to return your valuables, it means it is a robbery. In the same way, declining to return my Presiding Deity which was kept at Sri Krishna Mutt for pooja rituals is also a robbery”, the swamiji said.
Out of eight mutts, the seers of six mutts came together and held a meeting and they have taken a decision against Shiroor mutt. If he asked his Presiding Deity, they were pointing towards their leader. Everyone knew who is their leader, he said indirectly pointing at the Pejawar seer.
When asked about their decision of not returning the Presiding Deity unless accepting the disciple, the seer said “Who are those people to deny my Presiding Deity. I have to decide on accepting my disciple. There are many people to become disciple. I know whom to accept as my disciple”, he said.
“I would not go to any meetings even if they invite me. The main god of the mutt would get my Presiding Deity back”, he added.
Those who speak about following the traditions have not been following them properly. As per the tradition, the right of touching and offering pooja to the presiding deity and opening and closing the box in which the idol is being kept would rest with the respective seers. But when some swamijis were travelling in flights, the staff of the flight would touch the idols. Is that a right tradition, he asked.
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IPL mega auction to be held in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on November 24, 25: BCCI
New Delhi, Nov 5: The mega auction ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25, the BCCI announced on Tuesday.
This is the second successive year the auction is being held overseas as Dubai hosted the previous one ahead of the IPL 2024.
The player registration officially closed on Monday and a total of 1,574 cricketers (1,165 Indian and 409 overseas) have been signed up for the auction, which will clash with the third and fourth day’s play of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth, which begins on November 22.
Each franchise will be able to form a maximum squad of 25 players (including respective retained players), and a total of 204 slots will be up for grabs from the auction.
The list includes 320 capped players, 1,224 uncapped players and 30 players from the Associate Nations.
Among capped players, 48 are from India. Moreover, 965 uncapped players of the country will also be part of the auction.
This year’s auction will feature some high-profile India stars such as Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh.
The 10 franchises will collectively have around Rs 641.5 crore to spend for the available 204 slots.
Out of those 204 slots, 70 are earmarked for overseas players.
As of now, 46 players have been retained by the 10 franchises with cumulative expenditure of Rs 558.5 crore.
Each franchise was allocated Rs 120 crore to build their squads but after the retention process, which was announced on October 31, Punjab Kings have the biggest purse -- Rs 110.5 crore.
The Punjab outfit retained just two uncapped players -- Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh for Rs 9.5 crore.
Rajasthan Royals, under Sanju Samson, have the smallest purse of Rs 41 crore after retaining six players.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have also retained six players but they have a remaining purse of Rs 51 crore.
