Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)
Udupi, Nov 27: Reiterating once again that he did not insult Dalits or call for 'changing' the Constitution, Sri Vishweshateertha Swamiji on Monday November 27 said that people of all communities should be treated with equality and be provided with same facilities.
His comments regarding the Constitution during the just concluded Dharma Sansad had stoked controversy. There were protests and even a complaint filed against the Swamiji.
Addressing mediapersons here, Sri Vishweshateertha Swamiji said, "No one will be done injustice by reservations, so there is nothing to object. It is disappointing that some people have misunderstood my statement and are protesting. I have already said that I am not against reservations for Dalits. I am in favour of religious minorities getting facilities that religious majorities do. But Dalits are excluded from religious minority category. Only Christians and Muslims are included in this category. I also never said that facilities should be stopped for religious majorities. All facilities should be provided equally to all.
File Photo
"Equal treatment to all religious groups will help Dalit-run education institutions in getting the benefits they need. Through this, Hindu maths and temples will become independent authorities like churches and mosques. Society should not be divided in the name of religion," he said.
"For that reason (giving minority status to Dalits), Constitution amendment is required. Many amendments have been made earlier in the Constitution. So if I suggest it, how can it be against the Constitution? How is it an insult to Dr Ambedkar? The Constitution was not drafted by Ambedkar alone. Alladi Krishnaswamy, K M Munshi, Benegal and others were also members of the Constitution drafting committee. Ambedkar was the chairman of that committee. The Indian Constitution was approved by more than 500 national representatives presided over by Dr Rajendra Prasad. If anyone insults the Constitution, it is equal to insulting the nation. I will not do such things. I wish to treat everyone equally in society without any discrimination. That is why I put forward this proposal," he explained.
"Being an advocate, Dwarkanath (former chairman of Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission) misinterpreted my words. He might not have understood what I meant. Cancellation or changing the Indian Constitution is condemnable," he said.
Speaking about schemes for minorities, he said, "Why is Shaadi Bhagya only for Muslims? There are poor people in the Dalit community too. They should also get the same benefit. We need to provide equality and study our Constitution better.
"I won't get into justifying on lingual differences the border area. I will not drag them into this controversy. I doubt if the writers of Kannada Sahithya Sammelana (who had protested) understood my points properly. They did not get any other points to raise against me. It seems as if people are searching for stones in curd now. They have misused the situation. I had said that reservation needs to be expanded to other communities also," he added.
"We had expected UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to take part in Dharma Sansad but due to his election duty, he could not make it. Sri Sri Ravishankar Guruji also cancelled his visit due to personal commitments.
To a question on Iftar Koota that had been organized in Krishna Math last Ramadan, he said, "Iftar Koota is just a get together. There is no connection between Dharm Sansad and Iftar Koota. Dharma Samsad was scheduled a year before."
Throwing an open challenge to chief minister Siddaramaiah, he said, "If he is a true follower of Basavanna, let him ban cow slaughter and pass the anti-cow slaughter bill banning the consumption of beef. I do not know why the CM is objecting to my words."
On the issue of Ram Mandir, he said, "I respect the court order on Ram Mandir controversy. I hope that Ram Mandir work will start in 2018. The next elections results are also expected to be favourable to us," he added.