Whether I go to Kumbh or not is matter of personal belief: DCM

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said his plans to visit the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, was part of his personal beliefs and devotion and that no one had the right to question them. Shivakumar was responding to remarks by Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R Ashoka, who commented on reports about the deputy CM's plans to visit the Kumbh Mela while attempting to link it to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's recent statement.

Kharge had questioned whether poverty could be eradicated by taking a dip in the Ganga, alleging that BJP leaders were competing to take dips for the cameras. "He (Ashoka), the Opposition Leader, thinks he will gain respect by making comments against me. Let anyone say whatever they want it is a matter of our dharma and karma," Shivakumar said. Speaking to reporters here, he stated that rivers like the Ganga, Cauvery, Krishna, Brahmaputra, Arkavathi, and Vrishabhavathi belong to no one. "Water has no colour, taste, or shape, and everyone needs water. People say whatever they want I don't know what his (Ashoka's) issue is.

Maybe he has some problem. No one has the right to speak about my personal beliefs. My belief and devotion are my personal matters," he said. BJP leader Ashoka, in a post on 'X', asked, "Won't Kharge now question will all the sins of Dy CM Shivakumar be washed away as soon as he bathes in the Ganges? Will poverty be eradicated in Karnataka as soon as KPCC President Shivakumar takes a holy dip?''