Thinkers demand ban on religious activities in govt setup

Bengaluru: A group of progressive thinkers has urged the state government to ban all religious activities, worship of gods and display of any religious announcements at government offices, schools, colleges and universities.

In a statement released to the media, the group, including V P Niranjanaradhya, Ramzan Dhargah, B Suresha, H S Anupama, Sabiha Bhoomi Gowda and 70 others, citing the Article 25 of the Constitution, said that even if the individuals had all the right to celebrate their religions, that should not disturb the harmony of the society.

“Every individual is free to worship and follow their religions at their private place, but practising and allowing the same at public places, like government offices, schools-colleges and universities, is against secularism,” reads the statement.

In the statement, they mentioned Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan’s decision to install Ganesha Idol during the recent Gowri-Ganesha festival at his office and said, “Government offices are not the centres to celebrate any caste or religion. Establishing an idol of a god from a particular religion is against secular values.”