Belagavi, Dec 10 (IANS) BJP's Karnataka unit President B.Y. Vijayendra has demanded that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) must reveal not only the role of the 'Burude' (skull) gang comprising the complainant and activists, but also the details of those who financed them and masterminded the "conspiracy".
Responding to questions from the media on Wednesday, Vijayendra said that the activities of the Burude gang had created suspicion among the public about religious traditions. He criticised the state government, stating that it cannot simply sit idle, claiming that an SIT investigation is underway.
"In the Dharmasthala case, only the visible actors have been exposed. But people of the state are questioning who the real masterminds are. There is talk that the masterminds are close to the Chief Minister," Vijayendra remarked, insisting that the SIT must submit its report immediately. He criticised the ongoing probe as moving at a leisurely pace based on the government's convenience.
Answering another question, he said that the government should have attained "realisation" after seeing the very people who spread propaganda about Dharmasthala. "They looked like contract killers, competing with one another," he alleged.
Vijayendra further alleged that the masterminds behind the conspiracy, and those behind the actors involved, are within the government machinery itself.
"They are close to the Chief Minister," he claimed.
He said this discussion is taking place across the state, and demanded that the truth be brought before the people.
"This is not merely a mask man issue; it is a major conspiracy aimed at hurting Hindu sentiments and religious beliefs," Vijayendra said.
"It does not require an SIT to say after six months that these people are accused. Anyone walking on the street can tell," he remarked.
He accused the government of trying to escape public scrutiny through diversionary tactics.
In a major development, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala case has submitted its investigation report to the Congress-led government in Karnataka.
The SIT has already filed a preliminary chargesheet in a local court in Mangaluru district.
Sources stated that the report has given a clean chit to the temple management and claimed that the complainant, in collusion with certain activists, had conspired against the temple authorities.
Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, when asked about his earlier statement that a conspiracy had taken place in the Dharmasthala matter, and reports now suggesting that the complainants themselves are named as accused in the chargesheet and report, stated on Wednesday in Belagavi, "I know the history of Dharmasthala, and I also know that none of them would ever do such a thing. That is why I spoke about this matter with confidence."
--IANS
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