Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was at his rationalist best on Monday, taking potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for offering pooja at the Manjunatheshwara temple at Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district and standing by his own act of visiting the temple after enjoying a non-vegetarian meal.
Inaugurating a temple in Chikkaballapur district, the Chief Minister took a dig at Mr Modi saying, “God blesses only those who do pooja with a clear conscience and not those who do all kinds of wrong things in their lives and then light incence sticks in temples or do aarti. Actually, self- consciousness is God. Only someone, who acts according to his conscience is liked by the Almighty."
As for his own Dharmasthala visit, he recalled that while he was there to participate in an event, the dharmadhikari had asked him to visit the temple. “But when I told him I had to return to Bengaluru, he said I could pay obeisance from outside. And so I did not go inside the temple,” he explained.
Taking on his critics , who objected to him going to the temple after having a non-vegetarian meal, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shot back, “Once someone eats non-veg food, it remains in his body for 48 hours. Going by their logic, a non-vegetarian cannot visit a temple even a day after he has eaten. Only those who don’t understand the concept of God speak in this manner. God is in everybody, even a non-vegetarian.”
