Narendra Modi has time for movie stars, not for sree Shivakumara Swami’s funeral

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara Wednesday questioned the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the funeral of 111-year old Sree Shivakumara Swami of Siddaganga mutt.

“PM Modi attends celebrity weddings, meets movie stars but skips the funeral of our NadedaDuva devaru (walking god), who dedicated his life to help the poor and the marginalised. Repeated requests to confer Bharat Ratna on him have gone in vain. Truly well-deserved recipient of Kotler Award,” Parameshwara tweeted.

The seer, who passed away on Monday, was laid to rest Tuesday with full state honours at the premises of the seminary that he headed for over seven decades.

Meanwhile, commenting on the Deputy Chief Minister’s statement, Karnataka Home Minister M B Patil said the Prime Minister should have attended the funeral if he had no other engagements.

“It is not right on my part to react on that, you can ask this question to the Deputy Chief Minister. Maybe, he (DCM) is right if the Prime Minister did not have any other engagements, he should have been…because everybody knew about services of the great Maha swamiji…,” he said.