The pontiff made the remarks at a Kannada Literary Conference in Hosadurga. (File)
Ishwarananda Puri Swamiji, the pontiff of Kanaka Guru Peetha of shepherd Kuruba community, has alleged the authorities cleaned the state-controlled Vishnu temple after he visited it during 'Vaikuntha Ekadashi' in December 2023.
Speaking at a Kannada Literary Conference at Sanehalli Math in Hosadurga on Friday night, the pontiff alleged that there was caste-based discrimination against him at the Channakeshava temple at Bagur in Chitradurga district.
Kurubas are from the shepherd community, which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also belongs to.
"There's a Channakeshava temple at Bagur near here (Hosadurga). I came to know that they (temple authorities) cleaned the entire temple after I left it," the pontiff said during a conference of his community.
According to Swamiji, he went with Shantaveera Swamiji of Kunchitiga Math in Hosadurga.
Ishwarananda Puri further said he would have protested like 16th century AD saint-poet Kanakadasa, who too was prevented from entering Udupi Math.
"I would have protested had if I knew the temple came under the state Hindu religious endowment department," the pontiff said.
According to him, women from the priest's family were allowed inside the temple, while he was kept waiting outside despite the fact that he too was a pontiff of a Hindu monastery.
The Swami quipped that he has decided to go to all the temples as it helps cleaning all the shrines.
However, he told the gathering that henceforth he would not visit Channakeshava temple at Bagur in future.
Meanwhile, the priest of Channakeshava temple Srinivas told reporters in Bagur that no such incident took place as the pontiff has been visiting it every year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)