CM chairs first Hill Temple Authority Meeting

• ‘Transfer all Hill Temple assets to Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority’
• Royal family objects to conduct of meeting as High Court stay is in force

Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held the first meeting of Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority at Dasoha Bhavan atop the Hill this morning.

The CM was scheduled to arrive at 10 am but reached the Hill Temple at 11.15 am. The delay was due to the temple’s closure following the death of Naganna of Chamundi Hill village last night. According to local customs, the temple remains closed if a death occurs in the village and reopens only after the body is moved out for the last rites.

When the temple gates re-opened, the CM’s convoy entered the premises at 11.15 am. Siddaramaiah then proceeded to the sanctum sanctorum, where he spent over 20 minutes offering special prayers to the deity.

He was accompanied by Mysuru District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, MLA G.T. Devegowda, the CM’s son and MLC Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Revenue Department Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar Kataria and Tourism Department Director Dr. K.V. Rajendra.

Before the Temple Development Authority meeting began, a communiqué was sent to M.J. Roopa, the Member-Secretary of the Authority, in response to the meeting notice issued on Aug. 30 to the erstwhile Mysore Royal family.

The communiqué stated: “The Shree Chamundeshwari Kshetra Development Authority Act, 2024, is under challenge before the High Court of Karnataka in Writ Petition No. 19807 of 2024: Pramoda Devi Wadiyar v. State of Karnataka and others.”

“As you are aware, on July 26, 2024, the High Court passed an interim order directing that the Act under challenge shall not be implemented. The Writ Petition is scheduled for further consideration on Sept. 5, 2024, regarding the interim order dated July 26, 2024. In light of this, the proposed meeting on Sept. 3, 2024, violates the said interim order. Therefore, we request that the status quo ante be maintained,” the communiqué added.

CM’s response: However, responding to reporters in front of his house at Ramakrishnanagar this morning, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “Regarding the meeting of the Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority, I am holding this meeting legally. A meeting cannot be convened or postponed based on someone’s statement. What is more important — MP Yaduveer’s statement or the law? I am conducting today’s meeting strictly according to the law. The Court has vacated the stay order. Therefore, I am holding the first meeting today,” he clarified.

Devotees inconvenienced: Hundreds of devotees who arrived this morning for a darshan of Goddess Chamundeshwari faced inconvenience as the Temple gates remained closed.

Initially, the gates were shut following the death of a local villager. Even after the body was moved for cremation, the gates stayed closed. When devotees questioned this, the Police informed them that the Temple was off-limits due to the impending visit of the Chief Minister. Despite numerous requests, the devotees were not allowed entry, even though CM’s visit was delayed by over an hour. This delay frustrated the devotees, many of whom had been waiting since early morning. Tempers flared, leading to arguments with Police and special security personnel brought in for the CM’s visit.

Finally, the devotees were allowed inside only after the CM left the Temple premises and proceeded to Dasoha Bhavan, where a meeting of Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority was scheduled.