Congress–BJP Tussle Over Udupi Kambala ‘Guddali Pooje’

Udupi Kambala is being organised for the first time at 80 Badagubettu village, about 5 km from Manipal and under the Kaup Assembly constituency. However, the ‘guddali pooje,’ programme planned by BJP MLA of Kaup constituency Gurme Suresh Shetty became a point of contention.

The ceremony was scheduled to be held on Saturday, but former Congress minister Vinay Kumar Sorake is said to have objected to this, insisting that it should instead be conducted on March 4 and through district in-charge minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.

However, the BJP MLA who is also the president of the Kambala committee decided to go ahead with the programme as per the earlier schedule.

In view of the escalating situation, the district administration imposed prohibitory orders within the village limits. Officials said the foundation ceremony was proposed on land belonging to the Youth and Sports Department, reserved as government land for Kambala, and that an official programme had been fixed for March 4. To maintain law and order on government land, prohibitory orders were enforced from 6 am to 10 pm.

However, the ‘guddali pooje,’ was held at the Kambala ground under the leadership of Suresh Shetty. Heavy police deployment was in place, and the programme passed off peacefully without any untoward incident.

The BJP treated the Congress’ attempt to block the ceremony as a political challenge, and several party leaders and MLAs arrived at the venue.

BJP MLAs Sunil Kumar, Harish Poonja, Gururaj Gantihole, Kiran Kodgi, Yashpal Suvarna and MLC Dhananjay Sarji were present. The party alleged that the Congress-led State government was denying development funds and deliberately sidelining BJP legislators in their constituencies.

The State Kambala Committee condemned the politicisation of the traditional sport. Its president Devi Prasad Shetty, who is also a Congress leader, attended the programme.

“There should not be any politics in Kambala. The Kambala is scheduled for April and necessary arrangements have to start now,” he said.

Reacting to the controversy Gurme Suresh Shetty said it was unfortunate that an event like Kambala was being dragged into politics.

“Tulunadu has its own rich traditions such as Kambala, Daivaradhane and Nagamandala. In every place Kambala is being led by the local MLA. Yesterday, posters were circulated announcing the guddali pooje on March 4 in the name of former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake which is not correct,” he said.

He clarified that all stakeholders and people from all parties had been included in the event and that about Rs 2 crore was being spent on organising the Kambala, of which nearly Rs 60 lakh had already been spent.
“Everything is done as per ‘muhurat.’ A muhurat has been fixed for the pooja today and Kambala has been decided for April 25. Since the muhurta had to be followed, the guddali pooje was conducted today,” he said.

“There is absolutely no confusion — the MLA is the president of the Kambala committee, while former MLAs and district in-charge minister and MP are honorary presidents,” he added.
Karkala MLA and former minister Sunil Kumar said the date for the ceremony had been fixed after discussions with the district administration.

“Kambala is an occasion where people work together forgetting party differences. Congress has started a new and wrong tradition by politicising it,” he said.

Meanwhile based on a complaint filed by the Udupi tahsildar, Manipal police have registered a case against 37 named persons and several others for unlawful entry into the venue where prohibitory orders were in force.

The accused have been booked under Sections 189(2), 191(2), 329(3) and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 37 and 109 of the Karnataka Police Act.

Among those named as accused are Kapu MLA Gurme Suresh Shetty, Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna, Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar, Kundapur MLA Kiran Kumar Kodgi, Byndoor MLA Gururaj Gantihole, Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja, Bantwal MLA Rajesh Naik, MLC Dhananjay Sarji, and MP Srinivas Poojary, among others.

Former Kapu MLA Lalaji R. Mendon, along with several local leaders and activists from Udupi, Badagabettu, Katapady, Hiriyadka, Karkala and surrounding areas, have also been named in the case.

The complaint states that the accused gathered at the site and conducted the programme in violation of the prohibitory orders issued by the district administration and unlawfully entered government land earmarked for the event, thereby disturbing law and order.