MB Patil twist to Lingayat row
CM Siddaramaiah had said that he would recommend separate religion status only if all the groups in the Lingayat community came together.
Bengaluru: Adding a new twist to the ongoing controversy over a separate religious status for Lingayats, Water Resources Minister, M.B. Patil claimed on Monday that the Veerashaivas were different from Lingayats.
In a statement in Vijayapura, Mr Patil recalled he had signed a petition by the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha (ABVM) on July 31, 2013, seeking a separate religious and minority status and a separate column in the census form for Lingayats. "But I feel I made a mistake then, because going by the Shatsthala Vachanas, the Veerashaivas are different from the Lingayats. The Veershaiva Mahasabha should set right the misconceptions and take Veerashaiva pontiffs and Lingayat swamijis into confidence to evolve a consensus on the matter of a separate religious status for Lingayats," he suggested, maintaining there was a lot of evidence in two volumes published by Dr Hiremalluru Eshwaran to indicate that Lingayats were part of an independent religion.
"Essays written by Dr M.M. Kalburgi too support this. There are references in the Kittle dictionary and various gazetters brought out by Britishers to this religion established 800 years ago," he noted.
Mr Patil is not alone in his views as many of the pontiffs of Shaiva traditions who follow Aagama customs maintain that Veerashaivas are different from Lingyats and are a part of Hinduism.
His statement could, however, complicate matters for the Siddaramaih government, which has agreed to consider giving a separate religious status to Lingayats in the state in response to the growing demand from some sections of the community.