Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman conferred ‘Bharata Lakshmi’ title by Sri Krishna Mutt in Udupi
Udupi (Karnataka), Aug 9 (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman received the ‘Bharata Lakshmi’ title from Paryaya Puthige Mutt seer Sugunendra Tirtha Swami at Sri Krishna Mutt here on Saturday.
Sitharaman visited the temple city to inaugurate the special ‘Yali,’ a traditional-style structure that surrounds the mutt.
Sugunendra Tirtha read out the citation, praising Sitharaman for her "integrity and dedication" as Finance Minister.
Visibly moved, Sitharaman recalled her first visit to Udupi in 2005, when she received a Krishna idol, which she continues to worship.
She praised the 'ashta mutts' for their “culture of service” and lauded the 'annabrahma' tradition of feeding thousands of devotees daily as a symbol of "devotion and commitment."
Highlighting the Koti Gita Lekhana Yajna—an initiative by Puthige Swamiji to collect one crore handwritten copies of the Bhagavad Gita—Sitharaman called it a "remarkable effort" to spread Lord Krishna’s message worldwide.
“Serving human beings is serving God,” she said, adding, “May Lord Krishna bless our country, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and all our people.”
The honour was conferred in the presence of Vishwapriya Thirtha Swamiji of Admar Mutt.
Karnataka High Court judge Dinesh Kumar was also honoured at the event.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
