Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Constitution does not permit the Government to belong to any one religion.
“Neither the Centre nor the State Government can be of any one religion. There is no provision for it in the Constitution”, he said while addressing the gathering at an Iftar he had had hosted in Mysuru on Sunday.
He said the Constitution had also made it clear that the country does not belong to any one religion. The country has people belonging to all religions as Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others have all struggled for the country’s independence.
The Constitution lays emphasis on tolerance among different religions and harmonious co-existence. “All of us are Indians first. Then we are Hindus, Muslims, Christians. We are all from India. We study together, we work together and we should all build the nation together”, he said.
He regretted that peace in the society had been disturbed. People practised the culture and traditions of the religion in which they were born. People belonging to one religion should not disturb the traditions of another religiion.
All religions should be given equal respect. “If we are elected back to power, we will ensure that all religions are treated equally”, Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
Working President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) R. Dhruvanarayan; MLAs Tanveer Sait, Yathindra Siddaramaiah and H.P. Manjunath; D. Thimmaiah, MLC; former MP Shivanna; former MLAs Vasu and M.K. Somashekar; and former Mayors Ayub Khan and Arif Hussain were among the others, who attended the Iftar.
