K'tka Right-wing groups continue to force Muslim traders to shut business near temples
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Kodagu: The Hindutva Groups in Karnataka continue to force the Muslim traders to leave their businesses in the vicinity of temples, with the latest incident of the Durga Vahini members forcing a Muslim trader to evict his shop from the Harihara Subramanya Temple in Ponnampet in Kodagu district.
The eviction reportedly supervised by Ambika, a college lecturer and the district coordinator of the Durga Vahini is said to be a part of a vicious campaign by Hindutva groups in Karnataka to boycott Muslim businesses at temples.
The News Minute quoted Ambika as saying that they would not allow anyone other than Hindus to do business near the Temples. In a video, that purportedly covered the incident, she can be heard warning Muslim traders against setting up their business near the Temples while a trader is seen being evicted.
A similar demand for boycotting Muslim traders during the religious fair at the Subramanya Swamy temple in VV Puram in Bengaluru was heard last week where the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal submitted a memorandum to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Street Vendors Union in Bengaluru condemned the trend to boycott a section of the community from doing business on the basis of their religion.
A press release on this read that "Street vendors are brought together by hard work and hunger, not their caste and religion. They don't live their life begging from the government but instead face various difficulties in life. Misusing religion to ban vendors of a particular religion is unconstitutional. This is against their rights."
The statement further called out the government's stance, which it termed 'anti-constitutional' that will create a fearful atmosphere among street vendors.
In March 2022, Hindutva groups evicted Muslim traders from the Bappanadu temple fair in Mulki in Dakshina Kannada district as part of a similar campaign targeting temple fairs across coastal Karnataka.
