On Thursday, students at Bangalore University in Karnataka protested against the construction of the Lord Ganesha temple on campus. The protesting students claimed that despite objections from the registrar and vice-chancellor of the University, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) stayed adamant about building the temple on university grounds.
According to the reports, there was already a Ganesh Temple on the university’s Jnanabharathi campus which is on the way to Mallathahalli on Mysore road. However, it was forcefully demolished due to road expansion. It was proposed that the temple be moved to a new place inside the university grounds.
The protesting students however objected to this and attempted to stop the construction of the temple’s foundation inside the University campus. The students maintained that according to guidelines issued by the United Grants Commission (UGC), the university is a place to pursue education and not to practice religion. “The BBMP is trying to saffronize the university and is spending money on the temple”, the students stated.
Reports mention that the BBMP officials allegedly called the protesting students and faculty members as ‘mischiefs’. The University teacher’s council then demanded the suspension of the officers who allegedly insulted the faculty members and also the engineers for carrying out construction work on the campus.
