The controversy surrounding the independent religion status to Lingayatism intensified on Saturday with different forces expressing their strong views in favour of and against the demand.
Speaking to media representatives in the morning, Prasanna Renuka Veerasomeshwar Shivacharya Swamiji of Rambhapuri Peetha alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was trying to divide the community for electoral gains. He also called upon community members to “teach a lesson” to the Congress for its “divisive” politics in the next Assembly polls.
“Dividing community for electoral gains is not acceptable... No Chief Minister in the past interfered in religious matters as Mr. Siddaramaiah is doing. If he continues to be persistent on the issue, it will inflict a severe damage to Congress in the days to come as we, the heads of different Mutts, are determined to collectively resist the move,” he said.
Arguing that Veerashaiva was a philosophical term and Lingayat was a daily usage word, the seer reiterated that both were essentially one and the same. “We, therefore, need to consider Veerashaiva Lingayat Dharma as an integrated religion instead of considering them as two separate entities. The State government should not send its recommendations to the Union government demanding independent religion status to Lingayat as that amounts to dividing a religion. The expert committee had sought six-month period to study the issue and submit its report. However, Mr. Siddaramaiah and a few Ministers pressured the committee and got the report early [eyeing imminent elections],” he said.
No bitter arguments: Sharan Prakash Patil
Dismissing media reports, Medical Education Minister and one of the strong proponents of independent religion tag to Lingayats, Sharan Prakash Patil, said that there were no bitter arguments among Ministers in the recently concluded Cabinet meeting on the Lingayat issue. Speaking to presspersons here on Saturday, Mr. Patil however admitted that there was no unanimity on the issue.
“Everybody has right to express his or her ideas and opinions that could differ from others. There was a discussion on the issue at the Cabinet meeting and some Ministers opposed the demand for independent religion status to Lingayats. There were, however, no bitter arguments and no Minister threatened to resign, as wrongly reported in a section of media,” he said.
Our Belagavi Special Correspondent reports:
Sri Siddharama Swami of Nagnur Rudrakshi Mutt has criticised Ministers S.S. Mallikarjun and Eshwar Bheemanna Khandre for their reported opposition to recommending minority status to Lingayat religion.
“Mr. Mallikarjun was born rich. He does not understand the problems faced by poor Lingayats, who form the majority of the community. Mr. Khandre, on the other hand, has no understanding of Lingayat ideology. That is why he is opposing the State government’s proposal. Some other vested interests are opposing it for political reasons. They are doing it as an opposition to this will help them find some political foothold. The state government should not worry about such forces or individuals. It should go ahead and forward the proposal to the Union government,” the seer said.
Most Lingayats are farmers, farm labourers or petty traders. They will benefit largely if Lingayatism is declared a minority religion, he added.
