Demand for Separate Lingayat Religion Crops Up Again in Poll-Bound K’taka, Seers Threaten to Protest

Amid increased pressure on the government for a hike in reservation from various communities, the Lingayats have demanded that the Basavaraj Bommai government request the Centre to accord them a separate Lingayat status.

Addressing the media, Channabasavananda Swami of Akhila Bharata Lingayat Samanvaya said now that the BJP is in power in both the state and Centre, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai must send the recommendation again to the Centre and get the status approved.

“The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah had sent a recommendation to the BJP-led Union government in 2018 on according an independent religion status to Lingayatism. However, it was sent back by the Union government. Now that the BJP is in power in both state and Centre, we want Bommai to send the recommendation again to the Centre and get it approved and give us a religious minority status,” said the pontiff.

Questioning why Lingayats could not be considered a separate religion when Sikhs and Jains could have a separate identity, the pontiff demanded that the community be considered a religious minority and the 12 century AD social reformer Basavanna be made the cultural icon of the new religion.

The seer has called for a one-day ‘dharna’ in Bengaluru on February 20 over the issue and invited other religious heads as well as political leaders to take part in the event, emphasising that it is a non-political gathering.

The demands from various communities have put the Bommai government in a spot, especially in the run-up to elections. The Panchamasali community in Karnataka, at the end of last year, staged large-scale protests in Belagavi during the winter session demanding a 2A status to the community. The Vokkaligas, a dominant community in Karnataka, have also been demanding 2A status along with the Kuruba community that is seeking to be categorised under Scheduled Tribes.

Read all the Latest Politics News here