A tense situation prevailed in Karnataka’s Aland city on Tuesday after a rally by Hindutva groups led by BJP leader Union Minister Bhagwanth Khuba and BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar took out a rally to offer prayers to a Shivling in the Aland Dargah premises, in violation of section 144.
Arguments broke out between the police and the Hindu groups when they shouted slogans and demanded entry into the 14th-century dargah. Given the tense situation, a large contingent of police personnel was deployed to avoid any untoward incident.
Subhash Guttedar, BJP MLA of Aland, with the local public, led the rally towards the Dargah, knowing there is an order barring entry into Aland from February 27 to March 3.
The prohibitory orders were issued in the city, following the recent incident of desecration of the Shivling in the Eshwar temple.
Siddalinga Swami, of the Sri Ram Sene and head of Karuneshwar Mutt, Andola in Jewargi taluk, had announced that he will take out an Aland Chalo on March 1 to perform religious ceremonies for purifying the Shivalinga. He had also demanded that the State Government permit the construction of a temple in the premises of the dargah to protect the Shivaling there.
Deputy Commissioner Yashwanth Gurukar, on Saturday, issued an order barring Hindu leaders from entering the district on these dates as the Shab-e-Baraat ceremony at the Ladle Mashak Dargah in Aland and Mahashivarathiri is being celebrated on the same day.
The district police denied permission to Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik, and Hindutva leaders Chaitra Kundapura and Siddalinga Swami to the Kalaburagi district till March 3.
On February 28, Siddalinga Swami at a protest rally called IPS officer Alok Kumar “disgraceful” and hit out at the police for failing to take action when the Shivalinga was desecrated a few months back. “Disgraceful, Alok Kumar IPS…Har#$%k&or! He came to our Mutt and insulted us…We should be ashamed of your governance…Why are you there home minister? Is your job only to write letters of appointment to officers?…Police couldn’t stop when Shivalinga was dirtied. When we wanted to cleanse it, Isha Pant, who is a Congress-minded SP, banned us today,” he had said.
Siddalinga said he is taking the prohibitory orders as a challenge, and added that all the MLAs in the district are with him.
