Mangaluru: Following the controversy over his proposal to celebrate Diwali at Kadri Manjunatha temple, Congress MLC Ivan D’Souza has decided to change the venue.
Mr D’Souza had proposed to celebrate Diwali by organising various competitions and events at Kadri Manjunatha Temple on October 29. However this proposal had attracted the ire of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Hindu leaders had demanded that Ivan should not organise the event at the temple as he was a non Hindu.
A day after Hindu outfits held a press meet and opposed Ivan’s proposal, the MLC on Thursday declared that he was withdrawing his proposal. “I do not want anybody to create confusion and unrest in society. Even if one person is unhappy I do not want to hold the event at the temple. So I have decided to change the venue. However all the events will be held as per scheduled. The only change will be the venue. Instead of Kadri temple, the Diwali celebration will now be held at Gorakshanath hall,” Ivan said.
“Last time when we organised an ‘Iftar,’ some of my friends proposed that we celebrate Diwali too. My aim was to bring everyone together and celebrate the festival with harmony. The subject for the essay contest we are planning is ‘Deepavali and Harmony.’ There is no other motive behind my celebration,” he added.
