Seer never said it, Patil lying: Shamanur Shivashankarappa

Bengaluru: Lambasting water resources minister M.B. Patil on his statement that senior seer of Siddaganga Math has supported the demand for a separate religion for Lingayats, Akhila Bharath Veerashaiva Mahasabha president Shamanur Shivashankarappa said he would meet the seer tomorrow to elicit his views on the controversial issue.

The veteran Congress leader told Deccan Chronicle that Mr Patil was a big liar and his statement could not be taken seriously. The minister was under wrong impression that he could take over as the next Chief Minister by stirring a major controversy without understanding its impact on the society. "One of the persons close to the seer told me that the latter did not say anything with regard to separate religion issue. I do not know why Mr Patil is lying. To seek a clarification, I, along with other senior members of our Mahasabha, will meet the seer personally tomorrow at 5 pm," he added.

Meanwhile, sources in the Math reportedly told media persons in Tumakuru that the seer was not ready to take any political decisions since the Math has remained apolitical so far. The seer always blesses anyone who visit the Math-politicians or common man.

It was highly impossible for the seer to extend the support for separate religion tag for Lingayats when he strongly believed that Veerashaivas and Lingayats were like two faces of a coin. The pontiff was likely to make his stand clear on the issue in a day or two, sources added.

On Sunday, Mr Patil claimed that the Siddaganga Mutt seer supported the ongoing fight for the separate religion status to Lingayats during his one to one meeting in the Math. Mr Patil declined to answer questions when his reaction was sought on Monday's developments.

Anubhava mantap to win over Lingayats

Vying to win over the Lingayat voters of north Karnataka in the run-up to the 2018 assembly poll, the state government announced it was recreating  Anubhava Mantap,  the centre of the Sharana movement of 12th century reformer, Basaveshwara,  in Basava Kalyan, Bidar.

Making the announcement, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his government was committed to rebuilding the famous Ánubhav Mantap on  the recommendations of the experts' panel led by Go Ru Channabasappa. He revealed that the decision was taken during the recent meeting of Basava Kalyan Development Corporation. "A panel of experts was constituted to recommend the design of the Anubhav Mantap and based on its recommendations, a decision will be taken at the next board meeting," he explained, recalling that Anubhav Mantap was the focal point of all movements started by the Sharanas for a caste-less society.

Going by sources, the experts' panel has recommended building of the mantap over 25 acres on the banks of the famous Tripurantak Lake at a cost of Rs 604 crore over five years. With six floors, the Mantap will be circular in shape, have an auditorium to accommodate an audience of 770 people and a dining hall to cater to 1,500. The building will have a library, research facility and yoga and meditation centre to propagate Sharana philosophy.

The state government has  already begun renovating all monuments associated with the Sharana movement of the 12th century in Basava Kalyan. This is its latest move to win over the Lingayats as it has also decided to rename the Women's University at Vijayapura as Akkamahadevi University and issued orders for mandatory display of Basaveshwara's portraits in all government buildings.