Karnataka government to celebrate Vivekananda’s anniversary

Hauled over the coals by Opposition parties for organising celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, the Congress run Karnataka government is set to celebrate the birth anniversary of Swamy Vivekananda on January 12, which was declared “National Youth Day” by late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

“It is not being celebrated to resurrect the party’s image post Tipu Jayanti celebrations but to take the message of Vivekananda to the youth in the wake of growing intolerance in society. By doing this, we are not trying to appease Hindu voters,” food and civil supplies minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said.

He said one round of meeting was held on Wednesday and another meeting would be held some time next week to plan the celebrations for the anniversary in a befitting manner throughout the state.

Chief minister Siddara-maiah has given a nod to organise the celebrations on a grand scale. The birth anniversary would be celebrated as a government sponsored programme across the state.

The minister contended that the BJP and RSS had branded Swamy Vivekananda as a champion of Hindutva. In reality, he was secular and had respect for all religions. Unfortunately, all these years the communal forces had “misled” people claiming that Vivekananda’s philosophy was akin to Hindutva and he was a strong propagator of Hindu philosophy.