Seer warns against govt 'interference' in temples

Raghav-eshwara Bharathi, the head of Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt in Shivamogga district, has warned against the state government’s “interference” in the day-to-day affairs of temples in Karnataka.

Answering a query at a press conference here on Friday, he stated that the government should look after governance instead of trying to take over temples. “The government has to do its work, while mutts have to do theirs. What if we demand the chief minister’s post? The government’s intervention in temples and mutts is not correct,” he noted. He stressed the “need” for a uniform civil code and listed the “harms” of consuming beef. He called for a change in the mindset to protect cows.

To raise awareness about protection and promotion of indigenous cow breeds, the Mangala Gou Yatra will be taken out all over Karnataka, starting in Bengaluru on November 8, he said.

The pontiff was accused of raping a devotee of the mutt but was discharged by the court earlier this year.