Right-wing groups threaten to ban Muslim shops in coastal Karnataka temple fairs
India Today
Right-wing groups have threatened to ban Muslim businesses from setting up stalls at temple festivals in coastal Karnataka. Posters have been put up in temples and shops which state that Muslim shops will not be permitted to do business at temple festivals or fairs.
Banners have been put up in various temples’s annual fairs in coastal Karnataka stating that Muslim shopkeepers would be banned from setting up stalls or shops. According to locals, most of the temple committees came under the pressure of right-wing groups to exclude Muslim shops and not allow them to do business.
Right-wing groups are of the opinion that since Muslim organisations called for a bandh and closed their businesses after the hijab row verdict, temples shouldn't allow them to do business in their annual fairs.
An annual fair has been scheduled for April 20 at Mahalingeshwara Temple in Puttur taluk. Muslims have been banned from being part of auctions to set up stalls during the fair. In an advertisement for the auction, it is mentioned that only Hindus are allowed to bid for stalls.
Also Read: 3 Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath workers booked for issuing death threats to Karnataka HC judges over hijab order
Another hoarding in Dakshina Kannada district at the Bappanadu Shri Durgaparmeshwari temple’s annual festivities said, “People who don’t respect the law or the land and who kill the cows that we pray and who is against the unity will not be allowed to do business. We will not allow them to do business. Hindus are aware."
Mangaluru city police commissioner, Shashi Kumar said, “We are finding out who installed these flexes. If the civic agency is ready to file a complaint, we will consult our legal team and take action accordingly. The local tahsildar will visit the spot, take a report and then decide on a further course of action."
The annual festivals/ fairs in these temples usually happen in April and the revenue of the businesses goes up to crores, as lakhs of people visit the fairs.
