Bengaluru:

DK Shivakumar’s statement is false, said the trustee of a temple in Kerala after the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister said that political opponents were performing a ‘black magic’ ritual against him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah near the Rajarajeshwari temple.

“There is no such puja that taking place at the Rajarajeshwari temple… We would know if there is any such activity but we still checked,” said Madhavan, the Devasthanam trustee.

Mr Shivakumar, while speaking to reporters, said that he had credible information that a yagya  (special worship) was being conducted by “aghoris” at an isolated place near the temple. “The ritual is underway and is being conducted against me, the Chief Minister, and to destabilise the Congress government,” he reiterated.

He also claimed that 21 red goats, three buffaloes, 21 black sheep, and five pigs were being sacrificed for black magic.

The trustee, however, said that there was no such near the temple where goats and buffaloes were sacrificed.

Terming the minister’s remark “disappointing”, he expressed “dissent in dragging the temple into this”. “No such puja takes place here. It’s just Brahmin puja that takes place. That’s all we want to say,” he added.

When asked if leaders from the BJP or JD-S are carrying out this ritual, Mr Shivakumar maintained that politicians from Karnataka are responsible. “I know who is conducting this ritual. Let them continue their efforts; I don’t bother. It is left to their belief system. Despite their attempts and experiments to cause harm, the force which I believe in will protect me,” he said.

“I pray to God for a minute every day before going to work,” he added.

Elections in Karnataka, campaigning for which saw a high-octane fight between the Congress and BJP, were held in two phases on April 26 and May 7, with 28 seats, in which five seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes.