Bengaluru: While the BJP on Monday slammed the Karnataka government for its decision to recommend separate religion status for Lingayats, its state unit chief BS Yeddyurappa seems to be in a dilemma over his take on the issue and said that BJP stands by the all-India Veerashaiva Mahasabha’s decision.
The BJP, on the other hand, accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of "playing with fire for vote back politics" while Congress has said that Yeddyurappa himself had signed on the demand to accord Lingayats an independent religion status, him being the tallest Lingayat leader in the state.
Ending months of speculation, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka on Monday decided to ask the Centre to recognise the Lingayats as an independent religion and put the ball in BJP’s court.
After a marathon cabinet meeting and informal discussion with the powerful Lingayat seers, the state government declared that it would send the recommendation to the Centre. The state cabinet has decided to accept the recommendations of the Justice Nagamohan Das Committee which had asked the state to accord a separate religion tag to Lingayats.
BJP general secretary in-charge of Karnataka P Muralidhar Rao accused the state's ruling Congress of practising a "divide and rule" policy.
"Congress carrying 'Divide and Rule' legacy of Britishers in India. Siddaramaiah ji is playing with fire for vote bank politics. Why has Congress done this before elections? Why haven't they done it 4 years back?" he said in a tweet.
The Cabinet decision has put the main opposition BJP in a fix as Lingayats are the backbone of the BJP in Karnataka. Its CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa is also a Lingayat and the saffron party in the state is in a dilemma.
“Now that the state government has come up with this recommendation, the all India Veerashaiva Mahasabha should immediately call a meeting, discuss the pros and cons of this recommendation and be a guiding light to society. This is my appeal," said Yeddyurappa in his statement.
In a significant move, the Congress government in poll-bound Karnataka on Monday decided to recommend to the Centre granting religious minority tag to the numerically strong and politically influential Lingayat and Veerashaiva Lingayat communities.
The Cabinet meeting convened to discuss the issue was chaotic, claim insiders. Some argued that it should be called Lingayat religion and the others insisted that it should be called Veerashaiva–Lingayat religion. However, the expert committee had recommended that it should be called only Lingayat religion.
Lingayats are the followers of 12th Century social reformer and mystic Basavanna or Basaveshwara. A Brahmin by birth, Basavanna revolted against the Hindu caste system and founded Lingayat religion to create a casteless society.
The Veerashaivas are a Shaiva sect and not considered a part of Lingayats. However, they insist that they are also Lingayats and the religion should include them too. But some scholars argue that Veerashaivas are a part of Hinduism and not the followers of Basavanna.
Comments
0 comment