Bengaluru: Will the Lingayat religion demand piloted by the group in the Congress loyal to water resources minister M.B. Patil, reportedly with the blessings of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, boomerang on the ruling party in the near future?
Signs of this happening are fast emerging. A day after Akhila Bharat Veerashaiva Mahasabha (ABVM) president Shamanur Shivashankarappa openly expressing regret over felicitating the chief minister three months back, Mr Siddaramaiah hit back at him and conveyed his annoyance to Mr Shivashankarappa’s son, S.S. Mallikarjun, a minister in the state cabinet.
At the Lingayat rally held in Hubballi last Sunday, pontiffs, Congress legislators and Mr Patil had launched a no-holds barred attack on Veerashaivas, Hindus and Lingayat leaders in the BJP.
This had attracted a strong reaction from a cross section of society.
It had also upset Mr Shivashankarappa who, while recounting the chronology of demands for religion status on Wednesday, said that in hindsight, he felt it was a mistake to honour the chief minister under the aegis of ABVM.
Mr Shivashankarappa who was said to have a soft corner for the CM, suspected that Mr Siddaramaiah was behind the Lingayat versus Veerashaiva conflict.
There have been reports that the Congress brought up the Lingayat religion issue to split the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community and derive electoral benefits with the Assembly polls fast approaching,
The community has for long, been backing the BJP. Not the one to take an affront like this (from Shamanur) lightly, Mr Siddaramaiah, immediately after the cabinet meeting on Thursday evening, called horticulture minister, S.S. Mallikarjun and politely ticked him off saying, “I did not beg for a felicitation. It was you (indirectly attacking his father) who called me to felicitate me.”
Mr Mallikarjun was left speechless on seeing Mr Siddaramaiah attacking the ABVM and particularly his father, Mr Shivankarappa. However, he did not react, sources in the cabinet said. They felt Mr Siddaramaiah politely rebuking octogenarian leader Shamanur, might not go down well with members of the community.
