Dharmasthala, 1 Sep

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday said the BJP organised the 'Dharmasthala Chalo' rally in the temple town to "unearth the conspiracy of the ultra-left wing" in the Congress government in Karnataka, which he alleged was trying to "defame Hindu centres of faith and their beliefs".

He was speaking on the sidelines of the rally, organised to condemn what the party called a smear campaign against Dharmasthala. The BJP has also demanded an NIA probe into the case.

"Dharmasthala Chalo is to unearth the conspiracy of the ultra-left wing in the Congress government, who are trying to defame all Hindu centres of faith and beliefs in the country. They always target Hindu society, indulge in one-sided vote-bank politics," Joshi claimed.

"To expose all these things, we are here today," he told reporters here.

The union minister described the Dharmasthala case as "100 per cent a conspiracy", pointing out that Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar himself had said there was a "conspiracy".

"Based on a complaint by a person whose background is not known, an SIT was constituted to probe the matter. This was done despite the local police suggesting that his background should first be verified. After the SIT was formed, digging began everywhere in Dharmasthala. We had welcomed the SIT to conduct an inquiry, not to carry out excavations across the region," Joshi said.

Rejecting the Congress charge that the BJP was politicising the issue, Joshi countered, "It is you (Congress) who have made it political. We are here to expose you. You did the same on the Waqf issue and the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act)."

The controversy erupted after a whistle-blower cum complainant, later arrested on charges of perjury, claimed that over the past two decades, several bodies— including those of women showing signs of sexual assault — had been buried in Dharmasthala, with allegations pointing to the administrators of the local temple.

The SIT set up by the state government has since carried out searches at multiple sites along the Netravathi River in forested areas of Dharmasthala identified by the complainant. Skeletal remains were recovered at two locations, officials said.

RSS vs RSS infighting: Priyank on BJP’s stance on D’sthala 

Bengaluru, 1 Sept 

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge called the BJP’s protests surrounding the Dharmasthala case an internal feud within the RSS. 

“This is not BJP vs Congress. This is RSS vs RSS,” he said, speaking to the media at Vikas Soudha.

Kharge questioned the BJP’s newfound activism in the Dharmasthala case: “They were silent when the SIT was formed. Earlier, they themselves had demanded a reinvestigation into the Sowjanya case. What changed now?”

He called BJP's push to hand the case over to national agencies like the CBI or NIA impractical and unnecessary. 

“CBI already has 74 pending cases from Karnataka alone. They’ve written to the Centre about staff shortages. How will they take on more?” he asked.

He accused the BJP of trying to pin internal ideological clashes within the Sangh Parivar on the State government.

Reacting to BJP’s objections over author Bhanu Mushtaq inaugurating Dasara this year, Kharge said, “When BJP was in power, they invited former President Abdul Kalam and poet Nisar Ahmed.”

“They are using yatras like Dharmasthala Chalo and Chamundeshwari Chalo for political survival,” Kharge remarked. 

Without mincing words, Kharge also took aim at BJP leader and former MP Pratap Simha: “When Tipu and Hyder Ali ruled, did Dasara celebrations stop? No. They were grand even then.”

-Salar News