Abdication of the peetha by Buddhi Yoganand Swami of Gosai Mutt, Bengaluru, allegedly following the harassment by the management board of the Karnataka Kshatriya Maratha Parishat has led the community members to form a Karnataka Kshatriya Maratha Federation, which has decided to take the legal route to “save” the mutt. It is the only mutt of the Kshatriya Marathas in Karnataka.
Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, State president of the federation, V.S. Shyamsundar Gaikwad, chief patron Y.F. Kittur, general secretary Sridhar Rao Sindhe and temporary chairman of the Gosai Mutt committee Shankar Rao chauhan said that although the management of the parishat was dissolved after Buddhi Yoganand Swami was appointed successor to the Gosai Mutt, a few members continued to hold sway over its affairs and misused funds.
Mr. Gaikwad said that as the swami was harassed by the president of the parishat, V.A. Ranojirao Sathe, who did not even give funds for the maintenance of the mutt, the swami abdicated the peetha suddenly and went to the Himalayas. “Mr. Sathe is now planning to hold the inauguration of the new building owned by the parishat by inviting the Chief Minister in the absence of the seer of the mutt. It is condemnable,” he said.
Mr. Gaikwad said that they had informed ministers who had been invited for the event scheduled for April 24 about the issue and requested them not to participate in it. “We will also appeal to the Chief Minister not to participate in the programme being held in Bengaluru. If he participates, we will be forced to stage a protest carrying black flags,” he said. He said that while they had filed a writ petition in the High Court of Karnataka seeking appointment of an administrator to the parishat, they were exploring avenues to make the mutt sustainable and bring back the swami.
“We will also create awareness among the community members on who was responsible for the abdication of the peetha by the swami,” he added.