Mysuru/Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah Monday accused BJP of “hypocrisy” over its Dharmasthala Chalo rally, saying the principal opposition party would gain no political advantage from the issue. Calling BJP’s conduct on Dharmasthala and Chamundi hill duplicity, Siddaramaiah said, “They feel Hindus will unite with them because of what they are doing, but they are wrong. They feel they will benefit politically from it, but they won’t. We (Congress) have immense respect for Dharmasthala and Lord Manjunatha. But BJP is merely indulging in politics.” He questioned the timing of BJP’s agitation. “Why didn’t they protest before the special investigation team (SIT) was formed? Now that the SIT has found no evidence of mass burials, BJP is conducting protests. Isn’t it hypocrisy?” On BJP’s threats to hold a similar protest over the Chamundi Hills issue, Siddaramaiah said: “BJP feels that their Hindutva plank will be strengthened by doing such things. I’m also a Hindu… Haven’t we built a Ram Mandir in our village? They are indulging in politics, false propaganda, and lying in the name of Hindus. This is inhuman behaviour. If one doesn’t have humanity, one is not human.” In a post on X earlier, Siddaramaiah said: “BJP people are weaving a new strategy of a religious pilgrimage to Dharmasthala. They politicise everything. Let them go on the yatra. The formation of SIT was welcomed by Shri Kshetra’s Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade himself. SIT was formed to uncover the truth. Otherwise, there would always have been a controversy regarding Dharmasthala. SIT was formed to dispel doubts.” He said SIT was formed following requests from several organisations, including BJP. “Complainants appeared in court and gave statements,” he said. “Many organisations demanded a SIT to probe the issue. BJP functionaries welcomed formation of SIT. Now, they are politicising it. They don’t even know the interpretation of religion. Is there a need to hand over the Dharmasthala case to a central investigation team? When BJP was at the helm, which case did they hand over to CBI?” Meanwhile, Congress workers in Bengaluru protested the stance of BJP and JD(S), accusing them of spreading a false narrative and confusing people over the issue. JD(S) had held a separate rally at the temple on Sunday. The controversy began with a former sanitary worker claiming before a court that he was forced to bury several bodies, especially of women, in Dharmasthala. This prompted the govt to set up a SIT which excavated several sites — chosen by the sanitary worker — along Netravathi River. But police recovered a few bones only from two sites and forensic tests showed the remains were of a man. The complainant was arrested and has been remanded in custody for 10 days.
