Mangaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah has triggered a debate for entering Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara temple in the town of Dharmasthala, in Dakshina Kannada district, on Sunday after enjoying a meal of fish fry and country chicken.While the issue has not found much echo in the coastal district, where fish is staple, the CM justified his choice of meal, saying that no God has ordained that a devotee cannot have darshan after having non-vegetarian food.

No religious leader in the district has raised the issue. Krishna Bhat, a purohit from Puttur, told the shlokas clearly state that people should not enter a temple premises after consuming alcohol. “There is no mention of restrictions on people who have consumed non-vegetarian food to have a darshan of the deity . However, to perform specific sevas, devotees have to follow guidelines as per Hindu religious scrip tures. For example, a devotee offering Ashlesha Bali has to be on a purely vegetarian diet that day and the previous day ,” he said.

Temple authorities at Dharmasthala were not available for comment, and were busy with the 50th vardhantyotsava of the pattabhisheka of D Veerendra Heggade, dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, to be held on Tuesday .

Veeru Shetty , personal assistant to dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade, said: “We don’t have any say on this. Worship is a personal relationship between the devotee and God. We don’t check what a person has consumed before entering the temple to pay obeisance.” Siddaramaiah had visited the district on Sunday to dedicate and lay the foundation stone for development work worth Rs 254.57crore in Bantwal assembly constituency . Prior to the function, the CM and his ministers had lunched at the Inspection Bungalow at Bantwal, where he had kaane fry (lady fish fry) and kattada kori (country chicken sukka). He had later attended a dividend distribution function at Dharmasthala. Before leaving for Bengaluru, the CM had visited the Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara temple.

Responding to the controversy , Siddaramaiah, who was in Dharwad on Monday, justified having a fish meal and visiting the temple. “No God has ordained that one should not come for his darshan after eating non-vegetarian food. No God has ordained that one should wear a specific outfit while visiting temples. History has it that Bedara Kannappa offered deer meat to Lord Shiva.”