On 1st June, the Kerala government restated that, contrary to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s claim, no animal sacrifice was performed in the vicinity of Rajaraeswara Temple which is located at Taliparamba in the Kannur district of the state’s northern region. The Congress leader had levelled serious allegations that animal sacrifice was carried out at the Kerala temple using tantriks against him, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka. Now Kerala Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan has come out refuting the allegations, and the temple also has denied the charges.
K Radhakrishnan said, “We investigated the claim and also contacted the Malabar Devaswom Board. The preliminary report we got states that nothing like that has happened in or near the temple. The Devaswom Board also confirmed it.” He asserted that an investigation into the reasons behind DK Shivakumar’s charges is necessary. Furthermore, the minister mentioned that although initial reports did not indicate that such an occurrence had transpired in the state, the administration was looking into whether anything similar to DK Shivkumar’s accusation happened anywhere else in the state. He also argued that it was improbable that animal sacrifices happened in Kerala because they had been outlawed since 1968.
The State Police Chief has also received a report from the Special Branch refuting Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister’s contention.
Meanwhile, Rajaraeswara Temple on 31st May also dismissed his assertions and a trustee of the temple board named Madhavan voiced that a temple should not be dragged into politics. “There is no such puja that takes place in Rajaraeswara Temple. There are no nearby places where animals like goats and buffaloes are sacrificed, as he (DK Shivakumar) claims. We would know if there was any such activity, but still, we checked about it. No such puja can be done without the outer world knowing,” he reaffirmed.
He expressed his dismay with the allegations while underscoring that the temple only conducts traditional Brahmin pujas. “It’s such a disappointing statement. We express our dissent in dragging the temple into this. No such puja takes place here. It’s just Brahmin puja that takes place. That’s all we want to say.” DK Shivakumar’s statement was termed “madness” by MV Govindan, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary and MLA of the Taliparamba assembly constituency, where the temple is located.
He also supported Madhavan and highlighted, “Taliparamba Rajarajeshwara Temple is one of the most important Hindu temples in the country. There are no such sacrifices as part of ‘Shatrusamhara’ puja performed in Taliparamba like the old temple.” He added that the Congress leader’s statement was intended to foster a communal divide.
Notably, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on 1st June clarified that he had simply stated that black magic rituals took place outside of a Kerala temple and not inside of it, after drawing criticism. “My statement has been misconstrued. I never said that the black magic ritual ‘Shatru Bairavi Yagna’ against me and the Chief Minister was performed in the Rajaraeswara temple in Kerala. I had mentioned the rituals took place in a private land near the temple,” he claimed while talking to the media in Bengaluru.
He stated, “I don’t want to disclose. A priest who was part of that (ritual), has given me some information. I have visited Rajarajeshwara temple. I know earlier there were some practices in the temple, but now they are not practised in the temple. But some of them are trying to do it (outside). Let them (govt) inquire. I know a lot of things, but I don’t want to disclose things.”
The deputy minister added, “I have great respect for God’s own country, its temples and the people. My statement has been misunderstood. I did not mean to hurt the sentiments of anyone in Kerala or anywhere in the country. I had recently visited the Rajaraeswara temple and I am a devotee of the temple. I only referred to the temple to indicate the location of the black magic rituals. I would not like to talk about who is behind the black magic rituals, I only shared the details that I received. The Kerala minister has said that an inquiry would be ordered into the incident and I welcome that decision.”
On 30th May he claimed, “There is a plot in Kerala against me and our government. Some ‘pooja’ (ritual) is being carried out, out of spite against me. Someone wrote this down, the details of who is carrying out this ‘pooja’ and where it is being carried out. This is being done against me and the CM. A ‘Shatru Bhairavi Yagya’ (fire sacrifice) is being carried out near Kerala’s Rajaraeswara Temple to eliminate enemies. ‘Panchabali’ (five sacrificial items) is being offered. A nice red goat, 21 buffaloes, three black sheep and five pigs. As a result of the fire sacrifice, the enemy will approach ‘Aghoris’ (a sect of Hindu ascetics).”
“They are using tantriks to carry out ‘Raja Kantaka’ and ‘Marana Mohana Sthambana’ yajna. The people who were privy to the black magic rituals have given us all the information,” Shivakumar had said.
Congress-Left’s sham alliance
Left is a vital part of the I.N.D.I. Alliance, but not in southern India. When it comes to southern states, the two parties that are regularly spotted standing by one other at rallies, TV debates, and even fighting side by side against their own coalition partner, the Trinamool Congress, in crucial states like West Bengal are constantly at each other’s throats. Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja even slammed Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad and called it a “short-sighted” decision after the former’s wife and party candidate Annie Raja filed her nomination from the same constituency.
He charged, “Certain questions are being raised in public today as to why Congress decided to field Rahul Gandhi against Annie Raja from Wayanad. During his two yatras ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,’ his fight was against the BJP and its ideology but when it came to electoral battles, he did not choose to fight the BJP straight away. He has decided to fight against the Left. What message does Congress want to send out?”
“Fielding Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad is a short-sighted decision of Congress. Congress party should think from the larger perspective of the country’s future. This is what I said last time. He could have chosen any other constituency in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, or Karnataka. Congress should take note of why people are raising questions,” he added.
Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, in April, lashed out at the Gandhi scion and emphasized that the Left parties do not require the Congress party’s approval to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wrong policies. He was responding to the accusations made by Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders that he is soft on PM Modi to shield himself from the investigation of central agencies into multiple allegations made against his administration.
He declared, “It is ironic that Rahul Gandhi and VD Satheesan, from the same Congress party, question why the Chief Minister didn’t speak out against Modi. The Left doesn’t require validation from Congress for his opposition to PM Modi’s misguided policies and the RSS guiding them. Those who bowed before Golwalkar’s photo, lit lamps and solicited votes for the RSS should reflect on their own actions.” He further alleged that the Congress is “degenerating into BJP’s B team” and questioned the party’s secular credentials.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier suggested in his campaign speeches that there might have been a backroom agreement between PM Modi and Chief Minister Vijayan because the central agencies have gone after governments run by opposition parties in other states but not in Kerala. His remark was a restatement of the criticism of the Chief Minister made by the state Congress leaders.
MV Jayarajan, the CPM candidate for the Kannur Lok Sabha seat then announced that the Kerala Congress president is open to joining the saffron party and said that the Kerala Congress is pro-BJP. “The main enemy is BJP. We are attacking BJP but Congress leaders are joining BJP, which is the main issue here. 39 leaders in Kerala have already left Congress and joined BJP. The real situation here in Kerala is that the political line of the Congress is also pro-BJP. The chief minister is attacking the political attitude of Congress. The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president himself is ready to join the BJP, which is why the chief minister is attacking that policy of Congress.”
