A crucial meeting of the State Cabinet to take a decision on according “religious minority ” tag for the Lingayat community was deferred again on Wednesday as the government was unable to evolve a consensus on the matter between Veerashaiva and Lingayat factions.
Though the Chief Minister’s office maintained that the meeting was postponed only because Siddaramaiah was busy in a meeting with the Congress Election Committee members to shortlist candidates for the Assembly elections, irresolvable differences on the Lingayat issue was the prime reason, according to sources. Now the Cabinet meeting would be held on March 19, sources said.
The government has found itself in a tricky situation with some Ministers arguing for religious minority status for ‘Lingayat/Veerashaiva’ and others for only Lingayat.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who was confident of evolving a consensus, found himself on the backfoot as a meeting of heads of various mutts in Bagalkot threatened to launch a Statewide protest if the report of the committee headed by retired High Court judge H.N. Nagamohan Das, which has recommended religious minority status for Lingayats, was accepted.
There was another protest on Wednesday in Davanagere, warning the government of serious consequences if it made an attempt to “divide the Veerashaiva–Lingayat community”.
