Made Snana': CM sets a rider to ban ritual

January 11, 2012

madesnana

Bangalore, January 11: D V Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday said the state government would take a decision on banning 'Made Snana,' the controversial ritual of people rolling on leftovers of food partaken by upper castes, only after extensive public consultation, even as one of his Cabinet ministers said the government was committed to banning the practice.

“I neither support nor condemn the ritual. The government decision will be based on public opinion”, Gowda told reporters.

In Dharwad, Social Welfare Minister A Narayana Swamy said the government was committed to banning the practice observed in several temples of the State, notably Kukke Subrahmanya.

Replying to questions from mediapersons, Narayanaswamy said the issue of banning 'Made Snana' was discussed at length during the Legislature session. “Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar advocated a ban on such practices. Taking a serious note of it, the government has decided to ban the practice shortly,” he said.

When pointed out that a few seers were in favour of such practices, the minister refused to comment. He, however, said that the department was striving to abolish such practices in society and had even approached Dr B R Ambedkar Research Centre to conduct a survey on the origin of such practices.

The government will also hold an open discussion in Bangalore shortly, where elected representatives, seers, social workers and the general public will participate.The deliberations of the discussion will be implemented, he added.

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News Network
January 23,2026

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot read only three lines from the 122-paragraph address prepared by the Congress-led state government while addressing the joint session of the Legislature on Thursday, effectively bypassing large sections critical of the BJP-led Union government.

The omitted portions of the customary Governor’s address outlined what the state government described as a “suppressive situation in economic and policy matters” under India’s federal framework. The speech also sharply criticised the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as the VB-GRAM (G) Act.

Governor Gehlot had earlier conveyed his objection to several paragraphs that were explicitly critical of the Union government. On Thursday, he confined himself to the opening lines — “I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address this august House” — before jumping directly to the concluding sentence of the final paragraph.

He ended the address by reading the last line of paragraph 122: “Overall, my government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the State’s economic, social and physical development. Jai Hind — Jai Karnataka.”

According to the prepared speech, the Karnataka government demanded the scrapping of the VB-GRAM (G) Act, describing it as “contractor-centric” and detrimental to rural livelihoods, and called for the full restoration of MGNREGA. The state government argued that the new law undermines decentralisation, weakens labour protections, and centralises decision-making in violation of constitutional norms.

Key points from the unread sections of the speech:

•    Karnataka facing a “suppressive” economic and policy environment within the federal system

•    Repeal of MGNREGA described as a blow to rural livelihoods

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of protecting corporate and contractor interests

•    New law alleged to weaken decentralised governance

•    Decision-making said to be imposed by the Centre without consulting states

•    Rights of Adivasis, women, backward classes and agrarian communities curtailed

•    Labourers allegedly placed under contractor control

•    States facing mounting fiscal stress due to central policies

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of enabling large-scale corruption

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