Rath yatra issue
File reply before Dec 3, govt told
Tribune News Service and agencies

NEW DELHI, Dec 1 — The Rajya Sabha Vice-Chairperson Ms Saroj Kharpade, today directed the government to make a statement before December 3 on the reported move of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal to launch a rath yatra to a Sufi shrine near Chikmagalur in Karnataka.

The directive came after noisy scenes broke out in the House when Mr K. Rahman Khan of the Congress raised the issue through a special mention.

Leader of the House Sikandar Bakht said it was a law and order issue which concerned the state government. He would request the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, to make a statement as directed by the Chair. He further disclosed that so far he had not yet been able to speak to the Home Minister on the matter.

Earlier, opposition members demanded a statement from the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani on the steps being taken by the Centre to prevent the reported rath yatra.

The issue, which had thrown the Rajya Sabha in turmoil in the pre-lunch session, turned into an impromptu discussion when the House re-assembled.

When the House was adjourned for lunch, opposition members had been agitated over certain remarks made by Leader of the House and Industry Minister Sikander Bakht.

Though Chairman Krishan Kant had appealed for calm saying that Mr Bakht had clarified that he had not sought to cast aspersion on any of the members, the Opposition was in no mood to be mollified.

Immediately after lunch, CPI member Gurudas Das Gupta, who had allowed by Vice-Chairperson Saroj Kharparde to speak, said every member had a right to give his views. Mr Das Gupta clarified he had merely said that the Ayodhya incident of December 6, 1992, should not be allowed to be repeated on December 3 when the yatra is being planned.

Mr Gupta’s remarks, drawing a comparison between Ayodhya and the proposed yatra, had led to a heated exchange between Treasury Benches and the Opposition. BJP members had said that some members from the Opposition were interested in communalising the issue.

Congress member K. Rehman Khan from Karnataka had said the government should take steps to prevent any untoward incident at the shrine dedicated to Sufi Saint Baba Budangiri.

He said VHP and Bajrang Dal claimed the shrine, which was dedicated to Sufi Sant Baba Budangiri who is credited to have brought coffee seeds to India three centuries ago, belonged to the Dattatreya Peet and announced their intention to "liberate" it by the yatra planned for December 3.

While Congress members Khan Ghufran Zahidi, Vyalar Ravi, Janardhana Poojary and S.M. Krishna asked the government to exercise utmost caution so that the situation did not go out of control, Sharief-Ud-Din Shariq (NC) said the composite culture of the country should not be allowed to be destroyed.

CHIKAMAGALUR: Rapid Action Force (RAF) and armed policemen have been put on alert in the wake of a reported threat by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal to ‘liberate’ the Sufi Shrine.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been clamped for seven days in a 10 km radius of Bababudanagiri, a place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Muslims since ages.

VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS have planned a rally here tomorrow, expected to be addressed by its leaders, when the ‘rath yatras’ reach here.

A three-day annual ‘Datta Jayanthi’ celebrations began today at Bababudanagiri, where four ‘rath yatras’ from different parts of Karnataka are expected to converge on the concluding day.