By Shankar Raj*
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government has rubbished the allegations made by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar that black magic and animal sacrifice were conducted in a temple in north Kerala to cause harm to him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Kerala’s Minister for Temples K Radhakrishnan said such things do not happen in Kerala.
Minister for Higher Education and Social Justice, R Bindu, dismissed the allegations and asserted that such practices are not condoned in Kerala. The state’s commitment to progress, modernity and high literacy is well documented and known to everyone, Bindu said.
DK Shivakumar had claimed in Bengaluru that he had “information that 21 red goats, three buffaloes, 21 black sheep and five pigs were sacrificed as part of a black magic ritual to bring harm to me and our Chief Minister.” He added that the ritual called ‘Shatru Bhairavya yagya’ involving aghoris and tantriks was conducted near the famous Raja Rajeshwari temple in Kannur.
The temple authorities dismissed the allegations with disdain and said that this was an attempt to defame the temple. An office-bearer of the temple said no animal sacrifice was held recently or in the past. “This has never been part of our rituals,” he added.
The police in Kannur too said that there was no animal sacrifice in their jurisdiction.
But Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said someone who attended to black magic ritual had informed him. “I know who is involved in this,” he told the media. They wanted to “politically destroy” him and Siddaramaiah, he said.
Asked if the ceremony was performed at the behest of BJP or Janata Dal (Secular), he responded “I can only say I am aware of the people who are conducting the ceremony and the forces behind it.”
Meanwhile, the Congress Party in the state did not respond to the allegation made by the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister.
*Shankar Raj is a former editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
