Mysuru: Declaring that he was not an atheist as some people were trying to portray him as, CM Siddaramaiah went to some to lengths to prove his point at a religious meet held as part of the 10th Kumba mela which concluded at T. Narsipur on Monday.
Going down memory lane, he said as a child, his father made sure he participated in the Veeramakkala kunitha. “ I was expected to dance before the Sri Siddarameswara temple in Siddaramanahundi in all festivals and fairs. And while I was in this group I got my basic education in the alphabets and maths. It was thanks to a teacher, Rajappa, who came one day to make sure all children of the village were in school, that I was admitted righaway to class V. Had he not put me in school then, I would have remained a folk artiste performing Nandi Kamba or Pooja Kunitha. Then how can I be an atheist? I do go to temples at the MM hills and Tirupathi, but I don’t believe in going to Manasarovara in search of God. I believe there is one God although his names are different,” he added.
He said, “I am not against faith but only against superstition. People must have a scientific and rational temper. Dharma should be a way of life, and help in the practice of love and respect for one another, upholding unity in diversity and promote the good of humans, not the other way round. Only when hearts are pure and mind is free from intolerance and people are true to their conscience will God bless them.” The CM said his government had come up with a new tourism policy which would help develop T Narsipur, Talkad, Somnathpura, Biligiriranga hills and the Male Mahadeswara hills as tourism destinations.
CM to send Ayukta’s name to Governor today
The state government will send its recommendation on the appointment of the Lokayukta to the Governor either Monday evening or Tuesday, according to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Significantly the government has chosen to send only one name to the Governor. Speaking to reporters at T Narsipur on Monday, the Chief Minister said, “We are sending the recommendation to the Governor either this evening or tomorrow. We are sending only one name.”
Asked about the lack of unanimity in the appointment of Lokayukta, he said, “The Lokayukta Act says we must only consult opposition leaders , the presiding officers of both the Houses, and the Chief Justice of Karnataka and we have done this. ”
As for Karnataka’s hopes from the railway budget, he said that the government had written to the Union Railway Minister to clear a suburban railway for Bengaluru and a High Speed Train between Mysuru and Bengaluru that would cover the distance in an hour.
“I am confident they will include them,” he added. The coming state budget would allot more funds for health, education, agriculture and the social sector , and also continue to back the government’s priority programmes, he promised.
The Chief Minister exuded confidence that the Congress would win most of the seats in the zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat election results of Tuesday.
Dismissing Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s allegation that the Congress was trying to destabilise his government at the Centre, the Chief Minister said this was untrue.
