Seer accuses Minister of demanding commission for releasing temple grant

Hans India

06-07-2025

Seer accuses Minister of demanding commission for releasing temple grant a serious allegation that could embarrass the state government, Sri Poornanandapuri Swamiji of the Shrikhetra Taileshwara Ganiga Mahasansthana Mutt in Nelamangala has accused Karnataka minister Shivaraj Tangadagi of demanding a 25 percent commission to release a government grant sanctioned for temple renovation.
According to Swamiji, a grant of Rs 3.5 crore has already been approved for the mutt's renovation works. However, the seer alleged that Minister Tangadagi asked for a commission to release the funds. The seer has now written a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urging him to remove Shivaraj Tangadagi from the cabinet for his alleged corrupt practices.
In his letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Swamiji expressed gratitude to Siddaramaiah for generously sanctioning grants for the development of various backward community institutions across Karnataka. However, he accused the minister of misusing the system by flouting norms and manipulating the distribution of grants without any transparency.
'The files related to grants, which are legally approved by you (CM), the finance department, and the secretary of the backward classes welfare department, are being withheld by the minister. He decides who should receive the grants at his own discretion and distributes them through his close associates, enabling corruption. There are also widespread reports that his relatives are operating this corruption network,' Swamiji wrote in the letter.
The seer further said that lack of transparency and selective favoritism in grant allocation itself is clear evidence of corruption. 'We were forced to approach the High Court to get justice for the injustice done to our institution,' he added.
Highlighting his long association with the Congress party, Poornanandapuri Swamiji reminded Siddaramaiah that he had served as an MLA and as state president of the backward communities' organization back in 1992, along with holding various posts for 35 years. 'Out of loyalty to the party, we did not want to embarrass the government and had already written to the minister on January 20, 2025, informing him about our intention to approach the court if the injustice continued,' the letter stated. Swamiji claimed that he had already brought the issue of alleged irregularities within the backward classes welfare department to the Chief Minister's notice. He requested that the CM take immediate action by removing Shivaraj Tangadagi from the cabinet to prevent further corruption.
Issuing a stern warning in his letter, Swamiji said, 'If no action is taken within the next 10 days, we will be forced to initiate legal proceedings under the anti-corruption law against the minister. This is a matter of public trust, and we hope you will take suitable action to protect the dignity of the government.'
The allegations have come at a time when the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is facing increased pressure to maintain clean governance. Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi has yet to issue a statement in response to these serious allegations.