Shivamogga: Temple authorities bar Muslim traders at fairs; Karnataka Home Ministry seeks report

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Amid the attempts of several groups to not allow Muslim traders to set up stalls at temples, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Wednesday sought reports from police, assuring that the government will keep a close watch on law and order situation in the state.

“I have seen this (Muslim traders not being allowed to set up stalls at temples) in media. I have sought reports from the police officials. The state government is keeping a close watch and will take action to avert any untoward incident,” Jnanendra said.

After the hijab row in Karnataka, several temple authorities and organizing committees of fairs have banned Muslim traders from setting up stalls. For years, Muslims have been setting up stalls at such annual fairs at temples.

In the backdrop of protest against wearing hijab at educational institutions, some of the temple authorities and organising committees have barred them from participating in the festival, the first such incident in the state.

Several organisations objected to the participation of Muslim traders after many of them had closed their shops to protest the Karnataka High Court verdict upholding the state’s ban on hijabs at educational institutions.

The organizing committee of the historic ‘Kote Marikamba Jatra’ in Shivamogga has also stated that only Hindus can set up stalls during the five-day festival beginning March 22.

Only Hindu shop keepers will open stalls from Wednesday after Goddess Marikamba is shifted to the temple, said a local trader.

The Jatra committee held a meeting last Friday to decide on modalities for opening the stalls which is an important source of income for the temple.

Speaking to ANI, a local Bajrang Dal leader Shobith said that the move has been taken to avoid untoward incidents in the backdrop of the hijab controversy.

“In the past, people of all religions were allowed to put up stalls. This year we have decided to allow only Hindu shopkeepers,” Deen Dayal, a VHP leader, said.

The Jatra committee president Mariyappa K S said that he has no role in not allowing the Muslims to put up stalls.

Several posters and leaflets are doing rounds in different cities over the hijab controversy and the subsequent protest by the minority community over the High Court upholding the ban on wearing it in schools and colleges.

N. Shashi Kumar, the police commissioner, Mangaluru, has assured appropriate action against people who are putting up provocative posters being put up around ‘Bappanadu Shri Durga Parameshwari Temple’.

“We have taken cognisance of the incident of ‘Bappanadu Shri Durga Parameshwari Temple’. The local administration and temple authority have also taken note of the issue, and we will take appropriate action,” said Shashi Kumar.