Plans are also afoot to set up a Melukote Development Authority on the lines of the Koodalasangama Development Authority for its overall development. Picture for representational purpose

Bengaluru: In what is being seen as an attempt to woo the upper castes and dispel its pro- Ahinda image, the Siddaramaiah government now plans to host a world Iyengar Brahmins meet in Melukote, Pandavapura taluk , Mandya district in January, 2017 to mark the 1000th birth anniversary of Sri Ramanujacharya, a revered saint of the Srivaishnava sect.

Plans are also afoot to set up a Melukote Development Authority on the lines of the Koodalasangama Development Authority for its overall development.

With elections to the state assembly due in May, 2018, the government has set off much speculation that it wants to widen its appeal among the people and not be seen as merely pro-Ahinda by holding the conference.

But law and parliamentary affairs minister, T B Jayachandra, who also holds the muzzarai portfolio, refuses to give the event any political colour and says it is being planned merely to celebrate the 1000th birth anniversary of the saint.

“Any government in power would have done the same. Since the Congress is in power, it wants to make this anniversary a memorable one.

Besides being a saint, Sri Ramanujacharya was a good administrator, who built around 120 lakes in and around Melukote during his 12 year stay at the shrine. Unfortunately, most of them have now disappeared.

He allowed people of all castes, communities and creed to visit the Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple and this tradition is still being followed,” he recalls.

Noting that the 1,000-year old shrine lacks even basic facilities for its devotees, who come from as far as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, he says the government wants to take over six acres belonging to the temple and build a “yatri nivas” for those who visit it. "We will request all devotees both in India and abroad to donate towards the cause,” he explains.