It is not news when Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah visits a temple or seeks benediction from the head of a mutt. But when Congress leaders do so, it raises eyebrows. According to a Congress leader, party president Rahul Gandhi and chief minister Siddaramaiah have visited 12 temples and met swamis of the most powerful Shaiva mutts, including Sringeri Sharada Peeta and Siddaganga mutt in Tumkuru.
The Gandhi family has a deep-rooted connection with the 1,300-year-old Sringeri mutt, for both religious and political reasons. Rahul’s grandmother Indira and father Rajiv had visited Sringeri and met the Sharadha Peetha seer. But Rahul and Siddaramaiah did not see it fit to visit Udupi Krishna Mutt. The vedics in Udupi are perplexed about it. “We do not know why Siddaramaiah and Rahul Gandhi didn’t visit our mutt. In fact, we were expecting them and keeping our establishment ready for them,” says Vasudeva Bhat, a Madhwa community elder.
