After BJP, Congress and others stage protest over temple pond issue
Political parties in Hubballi are clashing over the construction of a road that allegedly encroaches upon an ancient temple pond. The BJP and local activists demand the pond's restoration, while the Congress party accuses the BJP of politicizing the issue to incite communal tension.
Why it matters
The dispute illustrates how local development projects can become flashpoints for communal and political polarization in India.
Days after a protest by Hindutva outfits led by the BJP to save a temple pond (Pushkarani), Hubballi on Tuesday witnessed a counter protest by Dalit and minority organisations led by the Congress accusing the BJP of politicising a development issue to create Hindu-Muslim divide and incite communal violence.
While Congress leader, including Rajat Ullagaddimath, and Gurunath Ullikashi of Samata Sena led the protest to save the road built to benefit the residents around the Bhavani Shankar Temple, Dalit leaders backed by BJP MP Jagadish Shettar addressed a press conference to release historical documents to prove that the Pushkarani existed in the place where the municipal corporation has now laid the road.
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