Poll ploy? Panel seeks 6 months to submit report on religion tag

BENGALURU: A day after twin blows to the state government, the seven-member committee constituted to look into the issue of separate religion status for Lingayats sought six months time to submit its report to the government. 
The committee, which met for the first time on Saturday, was originally given four weeks by the government to submit its report. 

“We cannot complete our work in four weeks time the government has given us,” Chairman, Justice H N Nagamohan Das, told the media after the meeting. “This is an important issue and the committee has an important responsibility to fulfill,” he added. 

Justice Das said in order to complete the work as per law and in a scientific manner, the committee decided to seek six months time. In case the government accedes to the plea for more time, the responsibility to act on report of the committed would rest with the new government as polls to the Legislative Assembly are scheduled to be held in a couple of months.

Meanwhile, official sources said leaders demanding separate religion status for Lingayats have already submitted documents to buttress their claim while those of the opinion that Lingayats and Veerashaivas jointly constitute the numerically significant community, have not handed in any documents.

On Friday, the Akhila Bharathiya Veerashaiva Mahasabha said it would not accept recommendations of a seven-member committee constituted to peruse applications for a separate religion tag for Lingayats, and the high court ordered issue of emergent notices to the state minorities commission and other authorities concerned in the wake of an petition, challenging the constitution of the committee, on Friday. 

Mahasabha president and veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa said the organization had no faith in the committee, and charged that it was constituted by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, to reap electoral gains in forthcoming polls to the Legislative Committee. The government took a unilateral decision on setting up the committee without consulting anyone, he said adding that since members of the committee have  expressed their opinion on the issue, there was no point in affirming faith in the new entity. 

Meanwhile, the high court said the committee’s report would be subject to the final outcome of the case where it would decide whether the constitution of the committee itself was legal.