Ministers Acharya and Karjol lock horns over Made Snana

BANGALORE: Higher education and muzrai minister V S Acharya is in the eye of a storm once again for promoting Made Snana, a ritual in which devotees roll on plantain leaves off which others have partaken food, at the government-run Kukke Subramanya temple in Sullia of Dakshina Kannada district.
Notwithstanding the demand by dalit organizations to drop him from the cabinet, his colleague and Kannada & culture minister Govind Karjol took exception to his decision: “The government should not promote such blind beliefs.''Without naming him, the minister said it’s the duty of the government to curb “blind faith” and “unscientific practices” through supervision and laws.He also called for an end to practices like the devadasi system.
Threatening to intensify their agitation across the state after talks with chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda failed on Wednesday, some left-wing organizations are baying for Acharya’s blood, saying he has violated constitutional provisions by promoting such superstition.
They demanded Acharya’s removal from the cabinet and a total ban on this ritual. “Made Snana is against democratic principles. Such rituals should be curbed just as Bettale Seve (worship in the nude), which was widespread some years ago, was done away with,'' said K S Shivaramu, president, Karnataka Rajya Hindulida Vargagala Jagruta Vedike.
Shivaramu said the vedike would prepare a fact-finding report on the ritual and file a petition in the Supreme Court. The organization also sought the intervention of Pejawar mutt seer Vishwesha Theertha to persuade his community to ban the practice once and for all.