Inhuman to ask people to take off clothes while entering temples: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
CM addresses Narayanaguru Jayanthi program in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister has criticized the system in certain temples asking devotees to take off their clothes before entering temples, calling it an act of injustice and also an inhuman practice, observed under the pretext of respecting God.
Siddaramaiah, who spoke after inaugurating the Brahmashri Narayanaguru Jayanthi program organized by the Department of Kannada and Culture at the Ravindra Kalakshetra in the city on Thursday, said, "We are all equal in the eyes of the Almighty. It is inhuman to ask a person to enter a temple only after taking off one's clothes. Such acts of inequality and discrimination, which are performed under the pretext of worshipping God but are giving rise to caste and religion conflicts, are insults to the Almighty."
Speaking about the social reforms undertaken by Narayanaguru, Siddaramaiah said that there was discrimination and conflict between religions and castes during the seer's time too, just as there are today, but Narayanaguru brought about a change in the society and its thinking style without leading to conflict. A perverse attitude that causes conflicts in the name of religion and caste by using worship of God as a pretext still exists, he opined.
"Narayanaguru found a way of worship that was free from any sort of discrimination. He told the people, do not attempt to visit a temple that denies you entry. Build temples in honour of your deities and worship them. As a result of the social revolution undertaken by Narayanaguru, as many as 60 new temples were built in Kerala. He also opened the temples he had built for people belonging to the lower castes, who were not permitted to enter other temples," pointed out Siddaramaiah, adding, "Narayanaguru also gave a lot of importance to education of the lower castes, stressing that it was a way to gain independence and strengthening the communities."
The Chief Minister opined that the social reformer cannot be said to belong to a particular caste or community, instead, he was a man of the world, who surpassed caste, creed and religion. "We therefore request the Union government to take the initiative of observing Narayanaguru Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the 'Vishwamanava'," he urged.
He assured that the requests of the people to the state government, to set up an 'Arya Eediga Development Corporation' and the construction of a hall, 'Narayanaguru Bhavana', will soon be fulfilled.
Pontiff of the Soloor Arya Adiga Mahasamsthana, Minister for Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Thangadagi, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, MLA Gopalakrishna Belur and Arya Adiga Samaja president Dr. M Thimmegowda present on the occasion.
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We will move court again to resist voter deletions: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP and the Election Commission over voter deletions during the SIR exercise and said her party will move a court again to resist the removal of electors from the rolls.
Her comments came after nearly 91 lakh voters' names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision in the state.
“You will not be able to defeat the TMC by deleting names. We will move a court again to resist the exclusion of names," Banerjee said while attacking her principal challenger BJP over the roll revision exercise.
Banerjee had in February argued in the Supreme Court as she sought an intervention in the SIR process.
The EC figures, which pushed the total deletion to over 90.83 lakh names from the original voter base of 7.66 crore in October 2025, showed that the proportion of removal of electors now remains at over 11.85 per cent.
Criticising the poll panel over the SIR process, she also said, "We will fight legally to get the names included on the list as per the Constitution. If people cannot cast their votes, what is the need to frame the tribunal? And then you are saying that the list has been frozen. What is this? We will challenge it and try to understand it."
Addressing a poll rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district, the TMC supremo accused the saffron party of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls and offering money to woo voters.
Banerjee also charged the Election Commission with intimidating people over the phone.
“It (EC) is working at the behest of the BJP. It is calling people over the telephone to threaten and intimidate them,” she claimed.
Later, while speaking at a rally in Balagarh in the same district, Banerjee warned that voting for the BJP would effectively mean "giving up fish, meat, and speaking in Bengali".
“People are not allowed to eat eggs, fish, or meat in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The same will happen here if the BJP comes to power," Banerjee claimed.
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