Kalaburagi: Pontiff of the Shree Chikkaveereshawara Samsthana Mutt, Revanasidda Shivacharya, has been removed as district president of the Akhila Bharat Veerashaiva Shivacharyara Samsthe for felicitating home minister, M B Patil during his visit to the mutt in Saradagi village here last week.
Mr Patil, who was in Chincholi to campaign for Congress candidate, Subhash Rathod, visited the mutt at its invitation to inaugurate its “Nashemukta Naadu” programme. On his arrival , the seer presented him with a crown of “rudrakshees” and blessed him to become the Chief Minister of the state.
On seeing the occasion reported in the media, the all India president of the Akhila Bharat Veerashaiv Shivacharyara Samsthe, Vimalarenuka Veeramuktimuni Shivacharya, who is also the head pontiff of the Mukti Mandira Kshetra in Shirahatti, immediately removed him as district president of the organisation.
The swamiji explained his decision saying felicitating Mr Patil was simply wrong as he had worked “to destroy the Veerashaiva-Lingayat dharma” in the Siddaramaiah government and even insulted the swamijis, calling theme ungrateful.
“ We are greatly surprised and pained by your action. This demonstrates that you are not in the right frame of mind. So we are removing you from the post with immediate effect,”he said in his letter to Revanasidda Shivacharya.
However, taking strong objection to his removal, a disciple of the mutt, Nagalingaiah Mathpathi, said if felicitating the home minister was wrong, was the Rambapuri jagadguru right in felicitating former minister, Vinay Kulkarni and the Shrishaila Jagadguru in felicitating former minister, Dr Sharanprakash Patil. A meeting of the mutt's devotees would be held soon to decide on their future course of action, he said.
