Bengaluru: Nearly two weeks after BJP national president, Amit Shah asserted that he was a Hindu Vaishnav, his community origins are once again the subject of debate in the poll discourse in Karnataka.
Nearly a month back, Chief Minister Siddariamaiah, perhaps taking a cue from senior Congress leader, Kapil Sibal, had said that Mr Shah, who claimed to be the champion of Hindutva, was not a Hindu, but a Jain. Mr Siddaramaiah trained his guns on Mr Shah after the BJP national president openly said that it was Mr Siddaramaiah who tried to divide Hindus, particularly Veerashaiva Lingayats by recommending the religion status for Lingayats.
Hitting back at Congress leaders, Mr Shah, while participating in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s foundation day celebrations in Mumbai on April 6, had claimed he was a "Hindu Vaishnav", refuting Mr Siddaramaiah’s claim that he was a Jain.
After Mr Siddaramaiah raked up the issue again, it was not Mr Shah but Union HRD minister, Prakash Javadekar who responded with a different reply to Mr Siddaramaiah’s query. "He (Mr Shah) is a Sanatan Hindu," Mr Javadekar claimed.
