Bengaluru, (DHNS): Sri Ram Sene activists staged demonstrations in various parts of the state, including Bengaluru and Mangaluru on Sunday to protests against hosting an iftar party at Sri Krishna temple in Udupi recently.

Sri Ram Sene and Hindu Jana Jagrithi Samiti activists conducted a pooja and sang bhajans at service bus stand in Udupi.

Sri Ram Sene, Mangaluru unit secretary, Mohan Bhat said that the Hindus have been pained by the Paryaya Pejawar Mutt seer Vishweshateertha swami’s act of organising the iftar party at the temple.

“Protestors are offering a pooja to Lord Krishna and singing bhajans to express their pain. We respect the seer and the protest is not against him. He could have hosted the iftar party outside the mutt,” he said.

Vishweshateertha swami said that the opposition to iftar party organised at the Krishna mutt shows the religious intolerance of the people. “The protestors do not know the true meaning of ‘Dharma’ and the scriptures,” he opined.

To a query by reporters on the statewide protests by the Sri Ram Sene, the seer said that the Hindu religion has grown from strength to strength only because of its thrust on religious harmony.

“As I will not continue in the Paryaya Peetha next year, hosting an iftar party in the Krishna Mutt does not arise. The possibility of conducting the iftar party elsewhere, will be looked into later,” he added.

In Bengaluru, Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik led the protest and addressed the protesters.