Bengaluru: Senior BJP leader, K.S.Eshwarappa on Friday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of trying to create divisions among the people by raising the issue of separate religious status for Lingayats in the state.
Speaking to reporters here, he said it was not a government's job to give or deny a religious status to any community as this was best decided by the pontiffs and religious associations. Mr Siddaramaiah had recently announced his support for moves to secure separate religion status for the dominant Lingayat community in Karnataka.
"Mr Siddaramaiah is merely trying to cover up his failures of the last four years by diverting the people's attention to such issues," he charged, demanding that the government depute five ministers from the Veerashaiva community to collect peopole's opinion about a separate religious status for Lingayats.
Also demanding that the Chief Minister release the caste census done by the Karnataka Backward Classes Commission, he recalled that he had in formed the legislature it would be released in December 2016. "But even seven months later he has taken no action to release the report," he regretted.
Mr. Eshwarappa noted that it was the first time after Independence that the BJP -led NDA government at the Centre had decided to give the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) Constitutional powers and was strongly critical of the Congress and other parties that were trying to block the NCBC bill in the Rajya Sabha.
"It is wrong to assume that if the NCBC is more empowered, the states' backward classes commissions will lose their identity," the Kuruba leader added, revealing that a one day seminar had been organized in the city on Saturday to explain the powers and benefits of the NCBC to the backward classes .
Religion status: Lingayats close ranks, Belagavi rally on Aug 22
While differences continue among Lingayat mutts, seers and leaders on the demand for a separate religious status, several top seers of the community's mutts and leaders have decided to hold another massive rally in Belagavi on August 22 in support of it , close on the heels of the one held in Bidar a few days ago.
At a joint press conference in Belagavi, Siddarama Swamy of Naganoor Mutt, Nijagunananda Swamy of Bailur Mutt, Gurusidda Swamy of Karanji Mutt and several other seers and leaders on Thursday said the second rally was intended to keep up the pressure on both the state government and the Centre for granting the community a separate religious status.
Pointing out that Lingayats were one of the most dominant communities in Karnataka and in parts of the country, Siddarama Swamy said the organisers of the rally were giving a call to Veerashaivas and other sects who followed Basavanna's principles to attend it. "We are attempting to unite all Lingayats as one community as the political parties have divided us into many different sub-castes and sects over the years for their gain," he explained.
The organisers intend to contact leaders from all districts in the state, besides heads of various mutts over the following weeks to urge them to join the campaign.
Recalling that the demand for a separate religious status for Lingayats was first made during pre-Independence, but did not gain momentum as the situation was then not conducive to such a movement, he said the time had now come to muster support for it to bring the many sub-sects they had been split into over the last many years under one umbrella.
Claiming that the rally was apolitical, the seers said all leaders irrespective of their parties were free to join it.
