Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to inaugurate a host of completed developmental projects, including the Mini Vidhana Soudha, in Aland on Sunday. Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, B.R. Patil, MLA of Aland, said Ministers Kagodu Thimmappa, Sharan Prakash Patil, Priyank Kharge, M. Krishnappa, and Eshwar Kharndre and Congress leader in Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge would participate in the event. 26 projects worth Rs. 110 crore would be inaugurated.
The Chief Minister would also inaugurate Samatha Loka Shikshana Samsthe, an educational trust led by Mr. Patil, and unveil the statue of socialist reformer Jayaprakash Narayan on the Trust’s premises before addressing a public gathering at Government Junior College on the same day.
Honour
Mr. Patil said that the Chief Minister would be felicitated on the occasion for announcing various developmental initiatives for Aland constituency in the budget. “Irrigation projects such as diverting Bhima River waters to Amaja reservoir and allocation of Rs. 60 crore for recharging groundwater table are very important initiatives towards addressing the water crisis in the arid Aland constituency. We, on behalf of the people of the constituency, will felicitate Mr. Siddaramaiah for these projects,” Mr. Patil said.
For Lingayat religion
Responding to a query, Mr. Patil said that he held that Veerashaiva and Lingayat are different sects and supported the demand for an independent religion tag for Lingayat community.
“The Veerashaiva sect detached itself from the Hindu fold to identify itself as separate entity. In the next course, Lingayats led by Basavanna and other social reformers in the 12th century, fought against superstitions and caste hierarchy within Hindu and Veerashaiva streams and identified themselves as a distinct community,” he said. He added that the future course of the agitation to get independent religion status to Lingayats would be finalised at a meeting scheduled for Thursday in Bengaluru.
