'Didn’t Enter Temple When Asked..'.: Siddaramaiah's Remarks Amid Sanatana Row Draw Flak

Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the "anti-Hindu" label faced by the opposition, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sparked a fresh debate with his comments about certain Hindu temples requiring men to remove their shirts and wear an 'angavastra'. He recounted an incident from the past when he refused to enter a temple in Kerala after being asked to remove his shirt, denouncing it as an inhumane practice and an affront to God.

"I once visited a temple in Kerala where they insisted I remove my shirt before entering. I firmly declined and chose to pray from outside. It's worth noting that they didn't ask everyone to do this, just a select few. Such a practice is inhumane...all individuals are equal in the eyes of God," Siddaramaiah remarked during the celebration of social reformer Narayana Guru's 169th birth anniversary.

This controversy arises within the backdrop of the opposition coalition, INDIA, coming under scrutiny following comments by DMK leader Udayanidhi Stalin about Sanatana Dharma, which were subsequently followed by remarks from Karnataka's Home Minister G Parameshwara regarding the origins of Hinduism.

Several temples in South India adhere to the tradition of requiring men to remove their shirts before approaching the inner sanctum, allowing them to wear an 'angavastra,' which is a shoulder cloth or stole-like garment. Prominent temples like the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kuke Subramanya, Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temples in Karnataka, and the Mantralayam Temple in Andhra Pradesh uphold this practice.

The BJP has criticized Siddaramaiah's stance and labeled it as a continuation of his "anti-Hindu" position. PC Mohan, Bengaluru Central MP from the saffron camp, asserted, "The Congress has consistently taken an anti-Hindu stance; they make such statements merely to appease a particular community. The tradition of not wearing shirts when visiting temples in Kerala has been in place for a thousand years, and we follow it. Some temples are even restricting jeans and shorts now. In the past, we used to wear dhotis. Thus, a certain dress code should be observed."

It's worth noting that during Siddaramiah's initial term as chief minister, the BJP had accused him of consuming meat before visiting the Dharmasthala temple in 2017.