Though not keen on allowing either Made Snana or Ede Snana, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the State government will adhere to what the High Court says.
The Karnataka High Court had allowed the arrangement worked out by the State government to stop practice of Made Snana – rolling over plantain leaves containing leftover food partaken by Brahmins popular in Kukke Subramanya Temple in Dakshina Kannada – and allow Ede Snana, under which devotes would roll over the prasadam offered to the deity. The Supreme Court on September 22 vacated interim stay on the order thereby setting the government at liberty to pursue its proposal on hand and directing the High Court to hear the Adivasi Budakattu Hitarakshana Vedike that had questioned the High Court’s verdict and sought continuation of the tradition without any change.
On the demand of activists to stop Ede Snana too, Mr. Siddaramaiah told reporters at the Mangalore International Airport that there was no question of allowing Made Snana as it had already been barred by the High Court. On Ede Snana, Mr. Siddaramaiah said: “There is no need to create a controversy. We will act as per directions of the High Court [in this issue too].” Prasadam, he added, is for consuming and not to roll over.
Sharing costs of railway projects
To a query on the issue of sharing costs with the Railways for several projects, the Chief Minister said the State government will share costs on a 50:50 basis with the Centre and also provide land as agreed earlier. “As he is from Karnataka, I wrote a letter to the Railway Minister asking him to reduce the State’s share in the project cost as we are giving the land. It is a proposal from my side, I have not said we will not share 50 per cent of the cost,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said the law and order situation in the State has not deteriorated. Action was being taken against persons involved in disturbing peace and those involved in attacking young couple from different communities.
The Chief Minister said the Government will decide after getting opinion from the Law Department on the recommendations of the B.K. Somashekhara Commission on the attacks on churches in different parts of the State in 2008 and 2009. He was responding to a question related to difference between the findings of the Commission in the initial report and the final report. While the interim report pointed to involvement of right wing forces in the attacks on churches, the final report did not have any such findings. The State government was thus forced to refer the findings to the Law Department for its opinion.
The commission headed by former High Court Judge B.K. Somashekara looked into series of attacks on churches in 2008. It had sittings for 300 days and examined as many as 754 witnesses. The Commission submitted its interim report in September 2009 and final findings in January 2011.
(The Hindu)
1 Comment
This made snana being practised at one of the Temples has absoulete no meaning in it. In the ancient days they could a section of the society of a particular caste., made this practice popularising it just to show that they are from a high esteem caste.