Belagavi: Some 48 hours before the state goes to the polls on Saturday, several seers from important Lingayat mutts of north-Karnataka have spoken out in one voice in support of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Lingayat cabinet ministers stating that the latter did not indulge in dividing Lingayat religion.
They have called upon devotees not to get carried away by the statements of a section of seers who are bent upon bringing bad name to Lingayat religion.
In a joint press statement, the swamis said, “The fight for a separate religion tag to Lingayat religion is going on for a long time and is not new. Several noted personalities, thinkers, organisations and people have continued their protests for an independent religion tag to Lingayats for many years now.”'
Emphasising that neither Siddaramaiah nor any of his cabinet ministers who are Lingayats have ever attempted to divide Lingayat/Veerashaiva religion, the swamis said Lingayat and Veerashaiva were two separate entities.
Fake e-mail targets Lingayats, goes viral
Barely 48 hours ahead of polls, a fake email purported to be from the Catholic Bishops’ Council of India to Bangalore’s archbishop asking him to convert Lingayats in the state to Catholicism has gone viral on social media.
The fake email claims that representatives of the Pope in Delhi held their first meeting with Karnataka’s ruling political leadership on December 21, 2013 to convince it to grant separate religion status to Lingayats. The email alleges since then, subsequent meetings have taken placeon the issue.
The fake mail also lists nine steps to go about converting Lingayats to Catholicism, including sponsoring 100 Lingayat scholars to develop material which could prove “spiritual supremacy of Lingayats over other Hindus.” The fake email also lists a goal of evangelising at least 5 per cent of Lingayats by 2043.
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