Bengaluru: In what could well prove a major game-changer in poll-bound Karnataka, the Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha, which has been espousing the need for separate religion status for Lingayats, resolved to support the Congress and chief minister Siddaramaiah and issued a clarion call to its members to vote en masse for the ruling party in Assembly polls on May 12.
With more than 250 seers in attendance at a meeting in here on Saturday, the Mahasabha, a parallel entity of All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, vowed to support Mr Siddaramaiah for championing their cause of a separate religion tag for their community. In addition, they threatened to move the Supreme Court in case the BJP-led NDA government decides to reject the recommendation of the state government on this issue.
Immediately after the meeting, Mathe Mahadevi, head of Basava Bharma Peetha, Koodalasangama, was all praise for Mr Siddaramaiah. During her interaction with the media, she said that though he was not born a Lingayat, he had proved beyond doubt that he was an ardent follower of Basavanna and demonstrated “Basava Sankalpa” through many deeds, including recommending to the Union government a separate religion tag for Lingayats.
Though it was seers like her who launched the agitation in support of their demand, the state government acted swiftly by constituting the Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das committee to look into the memorandum submitted by them and others on the need to accord a separate religion status to Lingayats.
The Justice Nagamohan Das committee submitted its report to the state government within two months, and the Cabinet discussed the report over two meetings before making a recommendation to the Union government, she added.
Lambasting BJP president Amit Shah for stating that he would not allow division of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, she sought to know whether Mr Shah held the post of the President, Prime Minister or chairman of the National Minorities Commission to make such statements. She charged that Mr Shah was functioning like a dictator without holding any constitutional post.
She hailed the Karnataka chief minister for not buckling under pressure from the seers of Veerashaiva Panchapeeta and putting the report of Justice Nagamohan Das committee in cold storage. He not only ignored their threats about state-wide protests, but also travelled to Koppal to unveil a statue of the 12th century reformer to demonstrate that he supported the establishment of “Basava Dharma,” she said.
The seer criticised the RSS for launching a vilification campaign against those who were demanding separate religion status for Lingayats, even going to the extent of alleging that they were trying to divide the country.
She clarified that members of the Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha were not anti-Hindu since they follow Indian culture, but had only sought separate religion status.
