The state BJP on Tuesday demanded that the government should immediately appoint a Hindu priest at the controversial cave shrine of Bababudangiri in Chikkamagaluru district.
Addressing a press conference here, BJP state general secretary and Chikkamagaluru MLA C T Ravi said the party would launch an agitation if the priest is not appointed at Guru Dattatreya Bababudan Swami Dargah in the next few days.
He said the Supreme Court had, in 2014, directed the government to appoint Hindu priests as per the recommendation of the Muzrai department commissioner. The government had assured the court that it would do so after holding talks with all stakeholders. But the Congress government did not appoint the priest to appease minorities, he charged. The government’s move to allow rituals to be performed only by the Mujawar (Muslim priest) is unacceptable, he added.