Bengaluru: The powerful Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha (ABVM) on Friday came out strongly against the state government's recommendation for an independant religious status for Lingayats and appealed to the Centre to reject it.
Its executive body, which met in the city, expectedly urged the Narendra Modi government to approve the Mahasabha's own petition filed in 2013 for independant religion status for Veerashaiva/Lingayats.
President of the Mahasabha, Shamanoor Shivashankarappa said imposing of the Basava philosophy on Veerashaivas was unconstitutional and it was only the 2013 petition pending before the Centre that must hold sway, arguing that they were one and the same and the Congress government in the state, was merely trying to divide them for its own gains.
Unwilling to strike a compromise, the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha (ABVM) on Friday came out strongly against the state government's recommendation for an independant religious status for Lingayats and those of the Veerashaivas, who accepted the Basava philosophy in toto, and appealed to the Centre to reject it.
Instead its executive body, which met in the city, urged the Narendra Modi government to approve the Mahasabha's own petition filed in 2013 for independant religion status for Veerashaiva/Lingayats, arguing that they were one and the same and the state government was merely trying to divide them for its own gains.
Although the last Congress led UPA government had rejected its demand, the Mahasabha said in a resolution that it would make fresh efforts to persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider it once again.
President of the Mahasabha and former minister, Shamanoor Shivashankarappa said imposing of the Basava philosophy in toto on Veerashaivas was unconstitutional and it was only the 2013 petition pending before the Centre that must hold sway.
The Mahasbaha's vice president, N. Thippanna, meanwhile, tore into the government's exercise , pointing out that no Lingayat was nominated to the expert committee that went into the issue of independent religious status for the community.
Accusing the government of trying to deliberately divide it, he recalled that although the committee wanted six months to submit its report, it was forced to give it in two months.
While warning that the recommendation of the state government would not bring benefits under the minority quota to the people as promised, the Mahasabha underlined in another resolution that its only intention was to unite and uplift the community as a whole.
