Temple priest confronts HD Kumaraswamy over his "anti Brahmin" remarks
Gokarna (KTK), Feb 8: Days after his controversial statement that Union Minister Pralhad Joshi belonged to a sect of Brahmins, which lacks culture and divides society, a temple priest here on Wednesday confronted JD(S) leader H D Kumarswamy, expressing displeasure over his remarks, and urged him to clarify.
Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Mahasabha has condemned Kumaraswamy's "anti Brahmin" statements and there are reports about protests condemning the JD(S) leaders from various parts of the state.
Facing criticism from the community, political leaders, especially the BJP, and various sections, the former Chief Minister clarified that his statement was misconstrued, and it was not at all directed towards Brahmins.
"Your anti Brahmin statement has very much hurt us.....please don't be upset because I'm saying this. We have regards for your family....I have earlier spoken to Deve Gowda (former PM and Kumaraswamy's father) here and felicitated him, later he went on to become Chief Minister, Prime Minister and you too became the Chief Minister," the priest told Kumaraswamy, who visited the temple.
He said, "We are happy about your administration, but your recent comments have hurt us, I urge you to give a clarification to it here itself and go."
Kumaraswamy told the priest that he wants to make it clear that he is not anti Brahmin, and did not speak about the Brahmin community. and he was referring to BJP and Peshwas. "We have great respect for the Brahmin community", he said.
Noting that his comments have been misrepresented, he said, "We always respect the Brahmins who have the culture of saying 'Sarve jana sukhino bhavantu', and he was referring to those who had destroyed Sringeri math."
Kumaraswamy had on Sunday claimed that the RSS was "conspiring" to make Pralhad Joshi the Chief Minister of Karnataka along with eight Deputies, after the assembly polls, and alleged that the latter belonged to a category among Brahmins, which lack culture and divides society.
Coming down heavily on Joshi for criticising JD(S)' "dynasty politics" and its 'Pancharatna Ratha Yatre', he said, the union minister belongs to a Brahmin sect to which the Maratha Peshwas belonged and that had allegedly destroyed Sringeri Math, established by Adi Shankaracharya and desecrated the idol there, and also that killed Mahatma Gandhi.
Criticising JD(S)' dynasty politics and alleged infighting in the first family of that party over ticket distribution, Joshi while addressing BJP's special state executive meet had on Saturday said, "they are taking out 'Pancharantna Yatra', but instead they should have undertaken 'Navagraha Yatre', as 8-9 family members of party patriarch H D Deve Gowda's immediate family are in politics.
Kumaraswamy after the temple visit, told media that he has been complimented by many for his statement and courage.
"People have told me that I have stated facts and something that makes people aware. Many Brahmin community people have complimented me," he said, while listing out his contributions for the Brahmin community, when he was in power.
Hitting out at the ruling BJP, Kumaraswamy said, "What I have said is we don't want Savarkar culture and DNA. We want the Brahmin community with DNA of Sarve jana sukhino bhavantu."
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
