Belagavi: At the time when the right-wing activists are demanding the ban of Muslim traders for doing business near the temple,  and BJP Ministers justifying the demand citing the law, Senior BJP leader and MLC H. Vishwanath has criticized very people of his party for opposing Muslims from doing business near temples.

Addressing media persons in Gokak taluk of Belagavi district, the veteran leader said that people should not be divided on caste and religious bases when it comes to doing business for a living.

“ Those who do petty business during the temple festivals are poor people. They come only for little earning. Priority should be given to human needs and not caste or religion. I strongly oppose those who are advocating the need to ban Muslims from doing business near the temples to eke out a living “, Vishvanath said.

Stating that innumerable Indians are working and earning money in Muslim countries. He wondered what would happen if those countries ban Hindus or Indians from doing business in their countries.

“ In that case, is Karnataka ready to provide jobs to NRIs of India if Muslim countries start sending them back”, he asked.

Cautioning that playing caste politics is dangerous to society, he said that one could win one or two elections on that basis, but cannot win every election only on caste and religious bases.

He asked whether it is written in the Constitution that Muslims should be sent away from India and they should not be allowed to do business here.

The controversy erupted in view of the recent controversy that triggered after instances of Muslim traders being barred from setting up shops and stalls in some temple premises and religious gatherings in Karnataka’s coastal districts came to the limelight.

Recently, Hindu activists in the Madikeri district of the state staged a protest demanding the administration to remove Muslim traders from carrying out their business during an annual religious event held at Shanivarasante of Somavarapet taluk.

The move to ban Muslim traders from Karnataka temple fairs has spread to more districts of the state and is likely to snowball into a major crisis in the coming days.

The trend which surfaced in coastal districts and capital Bengaluru has made its way into Hassan, Tumakuru, Chikmagalur and Shivamogga districts.