Union Minister for Home Amit Shah attended the 115th Jayanthi and Guru Vandana program of Sri Shivakumara Swamiji at the Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur on Friday as part of his two-day visit to Karnataka.
At the event, Amit Shah said, “I have stepped in the Siddaganga mutt for the third time today and whenever I have visited here, I always took back energy, enthusiasm and consciousness with me.”
Praising the philanthropic work undertaken by the Mutt to educate several poor students, Shah said, “Atal (Bihari Vajpayee) had said that Siddaganga is the Ganga (river) of the south.”
Shah also shared a broadcast of his visit to the mutt on his Twitter, saying: “115th birth anniversary program of Dr. Sree Sree Sree Sivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Mutt in Tumakuru, Karnataka.”
Chief Minister Bommai then took the stage to praise the late Sri Shivakumara Swamiji and said, “The fire he (Sri Shivakumara Swamiji) lit in his days is still burning. And that fire is taking away the hunger of many poor children even today. The revered guru has worked throughout his life to provide services in all three main needs to the poor and needy – anna (food), akshara (education) and ashraya (shelter).”
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister’s official page also shared a message on Twitter about the program and said, “The Chief Minister @BSBommai participated in the inaugural ceremony of the 115th Birth Anniversary and the Guru Vandana programme of the Padma Bhushan, Karnataka Ratna Shri Shivakumara Swamiji, organized by the Shri Siddaganga Math in Tumkur along with Union Home Minister @AmitShah.”
Home Minster Amit Shah was accompanied by CM Bommai and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya to the Siddaganga mutt, known to be a prominent religious centre for the Lingayat community.
The Home Minister’s arrival at the Mutt comes one day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit on Thursday. It is being reported that his visit was hurried up at the spur of the moment on the advice of Karnataka Congress leaders.
It is being said that national-level leader Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi’s back-to-back visits to the Siddaganga mutt are to appease the prominent Lingayat community ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls.
Shah’s itinerary also included laying the Foundation stone at a 200-bedded hospital in Sathya Sai Grama in Muddenahalli in the afternoon, following which, the Home Minister would participate in the Sahakara Sammelan organized by the state cooperative department in the late afternoon. During the conclave, he is said to also launch the Logo of Nandini Ksheera Abhivrudhi Bank.
The Home Minister is then said to hold a meeting of the BJP state Core Committee later in the evening. Owing to several speculations that there could be a change of leadership in the state including the Chief Minister as well as the party president, top officials in the BJP denied any possibility of a change of leadership in the state while speaking to news agnecy.