Karnataka: Lingayat forum hails panel for religion tag

Bengaluru: Claiming that the pontiffs objecting to the expert committee formed to look into granting of an independent religious status to Lingayats/Veerashaivas were pro-BJP, a forum formed to pursue the demand voted in favour of the panel on Monday.

Speaking to reporters here, forum members JD(S) leader, Basavaraja Horatti, former IAS officer, S M Jamdhar, Mr Jayanna and Mr Basavaraj Patil also claimed that the Veerashaiva/Lingayat leaders’ convention  in Gadag on Sunday was not a Akhila Bharathiya Veerashaiva Mahasabha, show but of the Panchapeeta. “The pontiffs, who participated in it were pro-BJP. One of the pontiffs at the convention alleged that the Chief Minister was dividing the community, but this is not true. Another pontiff  called the three ministers involved in the movement three idiots,” they deplored, noting that the report of the seven-member expert committee would be discussed by the state Cabinet before it takes any action in the matter. Also, all applications received by the government from the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, Mathe Mahadevi, the Panchapeeta and Viraktha mutts would be forwarded to the expert panel, which would go through them and make its recommendations to the Karnataka State Minorities Commission.

“The Veerashaiva Mahasabha and Panchapeeta pontiffs don't have valid documents to support their argument and fear their application will be rejected. The Panchapeeta seers are responsible for the ongoing confusion. They should keep quiet till we get the separate religion tag. They are playing worse politics than seen in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha," they charged.

Recalling that their plea for a separate religious status for Lingayats/Veerashaivas was rejected by the Union government in the past, they said another memorandum would be submitted to it on the issue. 

Basava Dal threatens to boycott pancha peetas 
The Rashtriya Basava Sena has threatened to boycott heads of the Pancha Peetas if they continue to oppose the formation of a seven-member expert panel to look into applications seeking separate religion status for Lingayats.

In a release here on Monday, Dr Ravi Biradar of the Sena dubbed the heads of the five Peetas as 'opportunists' who want government rules and regulations to be tuned as they wish. 

It was this same group of seers who went to former PM Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee seeking Scheduled Caste benefits for 'Beda Jangama'. 

In fact, hundreds of sub-castes among Lingayats will get benefits which religious minorities get and even associations and mutts wil get aid from the government. "We need not take lessons from these pontiffs. Basavanna is the founder of Lingayat religion and the vachanas are our religious text. In fact, 99 sub-castes come under the umbrella of one religion-Lingayat," he said.