Pratap Simha, Mysuru MP, has announced that a “Chamundi Betta Chalo” event will be held on October 13 to counter the Mahisha Dasara celebrations.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Simha said participants in the ‘Chamundi Betta Chalo’ event will reach the hill top by either the footsteps or the road.
The participants will gather at the foothills at 8 a.m. to take the steps to the hill top. “People, who cannot climb, will take the road and travel by motorcycle or cars. We will stop the practice of celebrating Mahisha Dasara, which is an insult to goddess Chamundeshwari,” he said adding that he was expecting at least 5,000 people to participate in the Chamundi Betta Chalo agitation.
He said the Dasara celebrations were being held for more than 400 years, but the practice of celebrating Mahisha Dasara began in 2015-16 by offering floral tributes to the statue of Mahishasura atop Chamundi Hills.
He said the people celebrating Mahisha Dasara allegedly insult Chamundeshwari, which is revered by a large number of people. “This celebration hurts the sentiments of people, who believe in the goddess”, he said and added that the celebration had been stopped ever since the BJP government in the State during 2019.
But, after Siddaramaiah-led government came to power, the organisers of Mahisha Dasara are planning to revive the celebrations that the BJP government had successfully stopped.
The BJP MP from Mysuru said he was also ready for a confrontation on the issue of Mahisha Dasara.
He said he would not only appeal to the State government and the district administration to deny permission for the Mahisha Dasara celebrations, but would also approach the police and district administration for permission to take out the ‘Chamundi Betta Chalo’ agitation.
While Krishnaraja MLA Srivatsa T.S. and Mayor Shivakumar will also join the programme, he said he would also request BJP leaders including former legislators L. Nagendra, S.A. Ramdas and G. Madhusudhan to participate in the agitation.
The Mysuru MP also said that the agitation will be held on a non-party, secular and non-religious basis. Hence, he requested all the 11 MLAs of the district and other elected representatives to join the agitation.
