Mandya: Mandya district minister N Cheluvarayaswamy on Sunday said the Dharmasthala case was a big embarrassment for the BJP. “Where were the BJP leaders all these years, when people had been raising concerns about Dharmasthala? They were in power; they should have investigated and taken action. When Soujanya died, it was BJP leader R Ashoka who was the home minister. Did the Congress stop them from taking action?” he asked.The minister pointed out that Dharmasthala, after Tirupati, draws the highest number of devotees, and allowing controversies around such a sacred place was “a serious failure” on the part of the BJP govt.He further recalled that when the Congress govt formed the Special Investigation Team (SIT), no one opposed it. “But once the results came out, BJP leaders tried to take credit. Now, they are demanding action. We are committed to ensuring justice and will not allow disrespect towards any religious place,” he asserted.On BJP demanding the transfer of the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Cheluvarayaswamy said: “Why didn’t the BJP do that when they were in power? I have seen the BJP up close. It is not as if we are unfamiliar with the CBI or NIA. In fact, our state agencies have delivered far better results. We’ve handed over many cases to CBI and NIA, but they didn’t yield any results.” Defending DCM DK Shivakumar singing an RSS song, the minister said, “DK Shivakumar is a Hindu, and when it comes to Hindutva or temples, the Congress has shown more respect than BJP. It’s BJP that politicises religion, we do not. If Shivakumar wanted to join BJP, he would have done that long ago. He has built a strong foundation in Congress and has been an effective state president.”On Shivakumar’s prospects of becoming chief minister, Cheluvarayaswamy said, “When the time is right, he will become CM. That decision will be made by the senior leadership of Cong, not by BJP or the media.”Addressing the arrest of Congress MLA Virendra Pappi, the minister clarified, “Virendra Pappi has been a businessman for a long time. He never concealed that when he became an MLA. If the Enforcement Directorate needs any clarification, he will cooperate. If he has acted against the law, action will certainly be taken. Ultimately, it is the court that will take the final decision.”
