Mysuru MP Pratap Simmha was turned away from the foundation laying ceremony for construction of a Ram temple in Gujjegowdanapura near Mysuru from where the stone for carving the idol at Ayodhya had been mined.
On January 22, when the MP turned up in the village on the outskirts of Mysuru to participate in the ground-breaking ceremony for constructing a Ram temple, village leaders blocked his entry and asked him to leave. The locals accused the BJP MP of being anti-Dalit and fomenting trouble among various groups.
Though JD(S) leaders, including former Ministers G.T. Deve Gowda and S.R. Mahesh, besides MLC C.N. Manje Gowda tried to reason with the locals, they were adamant against the BJP MP’s participation in the function.
The locals, including Dalit leaders, accused Mr. Simmha of displaying an anti-Dalit stance during the celebration of Mahisha Dasara. They said they are also admirers of Sri Ram and were constructing a temple out of reverence for him while opposing Mr Simmha’s participation in the event, as the latter is known to sow seeds of differences among different groups.
Mr Simmha, who left the venue, later told reporters that he was denied entry into the village by a former taluk panchayat member of the Congress party, and a group of Mahisha followers.
He reiterated his opposition to Mahisha’s followers and accused Congress supporters of shouting slogans against his entry into the village. He blamed Congress supporters for the incident and said the party was resorting to such mischief as it was aware that they can’t defeat him in the constituency.
Recently, Mr. Deve Gowda had announced that a Sri Rama temple will be built at the place in Gujjegowdanapura from where the black stone used for sculpting the Ram Lalla idol at Ayodhya had been mined. The foundation ceremony for the temple, to be built with donation by the public, was scheduled on January 22 to coincide with the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
