Hindutva activists remove veil off Shiva statue after BBMP tells HC it's been covered

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday reiterated that the court case about the construction of an artificial island and the installation of a Shiva statue inside Begur Lake is not a religious issue but a legal one. And it only pertained to whether an artificial island can be constructed in the middle of a lake. 

Karnataka Chief Justice Abhay Sreeniwas Oka while hearing the case on Wednesday afternoon said, "The issue about Begur lake is about the action of BBMP of creating artificial islands and installing statues. The issue involved is a legal issue about whether an island can be constructed in the middle of a lake. There is no religious issue involved in this group of petitions." 

Though construction inside Begur Lake, one of Bengaluru's oldest lakes, was stopped through a stay order by the Karnataka High Court nearly two years ago in August 2019, the court was informed on August 8 by the petitioner Leo Saldanha that the Shiva statue which was under wraps in an island inside the lake was unveiled and saffron flags were installed in preparation for its consecration. 

The High Court criticised the actions of Hindutva activists who unveiled the statue. "If anyone is aggrieved by orders passed by this court, they can approach us.If what is stated in the memo is correct, the practice of defying orders of this court in this fashion has to be deprecated by all concerned. We direct the state to ensure that police keep constant vigil near the island created in the Begur lake. Orders passed by this court, it is very clear that all orders are intended to ensure existing lakes are protected and lakes which disappeared with the passage of time are rejuvenated," Chief Justice Abhay Oka said. 

The High Court asked the Bengaluru Police Commissioner to file a report about the action taken on posting requisite number of police at Begur lake by August 17. The next hearing in the case will be on August 18. 

The counsel appearing for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in court said that the statue was covered on Wednesday morning at 11:45 am by officials with police protection. But by the evening, local residents informed TNM that Hindutva activists had once again removed the covers of the statue and held a protest at the island. They called for the Bengaluru South BJP MLA M Krishnappa to meet them at the statue. Police officials were present at the lake boundary. 

TNM had earlier reported that in the last two weeks, pro-Hindutva organisations circulated posters and videos and questioned the stay on the statue, propagating a claim that it was due to objections raised by the Christian community. There have also been attempts to consecrate the statue.

The Karnataka High Court issued the stay order based on an affidavit filed by Leo Saldanha, Coordinator of the Environment Support Group, after he was allowed to be an intervener in a public interest litigation filed by Citizens Action Group (CAG) about the plight of the city’s lakes and stormwater drains. The Hindutva activists are targeting Leo Saldanha and ESG, an environmental not-for-profit working in Bengaluru for 25 years since 1996. In this time, ESG has filed a number of public interest litigations against the encroachment of lakes and has won landmark cases to protect the lakes in the city. This includes an order from the Karnataka High Court in 2011 asking for an action plan to support lakes and an order against arbitrary privatisation of lakes in Bengaluru in 2012.

Posters shared over the last two weeks claimed that Hindu organisations had come together to unveil the statue after it was blocked by "Christian missionaries who claimed that water levels in the lake will decrease.” The posters had the logo of Postcard News, a fake news website. The founder of Postcard News Mahesh Vikram Hegde was arrested  in 2018 for spreading fake news about a Jain monk being attacked by a Muslim youth.