The JD(S)-Congress coalition government completed three months in office on Thursday. But what has made more headlines is Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's obsession with temple visits.
While Kumaraswamy has visited more than 45 temples in the last 90 days, his latest visit to Brahma Temple in Pushkar and the Ajmer Dargah on Thursday has drawn flak from critics.
At a time when disaster-hit Kodagu is in need of help for swift rehabilitation, Kumaraswamy's temple run has evoked strong reactions from people.
If Kumaraswamy's father and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda is known to be very religious, his elder brother H.D. Revanna's obsession with astrology and Vaasthu is a talking point too. However, Kumaraswamy, who was perceived to be a liberal till now, seems to be turning 'hyper-religious', which many attribute to the fear of losing power.
As though affirming his faith, Kumaraswamy on earlier occasions had admitted that he became chief minister twice because of Lord Ayyappa's blessings.
Kumaraswamy said he believed he became chief minister in 2006 because of blessings of Lord Ayyappa. “In 2006, I became chief minister after I visited Sabarimala. Now, this is the second time," Kumaraswamy had claimed.
Last month, Kumaraswamy participated at a puja at Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple and Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple in Dakshina Kannada, along with his wife Anitha Kumaraswamy and his parents, even as torrential rains played havoc in the coastal areas of Karnataka. But Kumaraswamy and his family braved heavy rains and a landslip, took a detour through Charmadi Ghat after a landslide in the Shiradi Ghat to reach Kukke Subrahmanya Temple.
In fact, the marathon temple run began during the election campaign. In May, as the chief minister-designate too, Kumaraswamy visited many temples including Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam near Trichy in Tamil Nadu and Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati.
Ahead of his swearing-in ceremony, Kumaraswamy had visited the holy towns of Dharmasthala and Sringeri and had said he prayed for the success of the coalition government.
Kumaraswamy's temple run has included visits to Adichunchungiri Mutt in Bengaluru, Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur and Suttur Mutt at Mysuru and temples in Hassan and Holenarsipura.
Social media trolls and critics are reminding Kumaraswamy about the relief works at the flood-affected regions of Kodagu, Malnad and coastal districts and the implementation of the ambitious farm loan waiver, while nicknaming him as the "Muzrai minister", the Muzrai department being the government agency concerned with temple affairs.