A cloth resembling the flag of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) was found on the canopy over a statue of Adi Shankaracharya in Sringeri town on Thursday morning, leaving people of the temple town agitated. The devotees of Sharada Peetha, established by Adi Shankaracharya, have demanded that the police arrest those involved in the act.
The police, meanwhile, have said hat it is a cloth “resembling the SDPI flag” but not the flag itself.
The incident came to light around 10 a.m. when a few local people noticed it, which was removed later. Adi Shankaracharya Bhakta Vrunda, a forum of devotees, has submitted a memorandum to the Superintendent of Police of Chikkamagaluru condemning the incident and demanding immediate action. A few devotees also met police officials in Sringeri and urged them to arrest those involved in the act.
Minister for Kannada and Culture and Tourism C.T. Ravi, who is also Minister in charge of the district, in a tweet, said he got to know that “an SDPI flag was hoisted” on the statue of Adi Shankaracharya and had directed the Superintendent of Police to investigate the issue. The Sringeri police have registered a case on the charge of hurting sentiments of the people.
Akshay M. Hakay, Superintendent of Police, told The Hindu that it was raining in the morning and somebody had thrown the cloth on the statue. “The cloth is similar to SDPI flag, but not exactly the flag. It has three colours - green, red, and light blue. It seems somebody just threw it on the statue and left the place. It must have happened early in the morning,” he said. The police are checking CCTV camera footage.
BJP demand
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has urged the Union and State governments to initiate the process to ban SDPI and take strict action against those who are involved in the alleged “sacrilege.”
In a release, BJP State spokesperson Ganesh Karnik alleged that communal and anti-social elements among the minority community were “itching for a communal flare-up” by engineering a clash between Hindus and Muslims.
“It also seems that these forces are emboldened by the violence that took place in Mangaluru some time ago and on Tuesday late evening at Kaval Byrasandra in Bengaluru,” he said.