Within days of BJP national president Amit Shah’s visit to Siddaganga Mutt, AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called on the seer of the prominent Lingayat mutt, Shivakumara Swami. He wished the seer, who turned 111 recently, by presenting him a bouquet of 111 roses.
The seer gifted Mr. Gandhi photographs of the former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi and the former AICC president Sonia Gandhi taken during their visits to the mutt. He was also given a portrait of the seer.
The visits of the presidents of the Congress and the BJP to the mutt gain significance in the light of the Siddaramaiah government’s decision to accord ‘religious minority’ status for Lingayat. The mutt had welcomed the decision.
Mr. Gandhi was accompanied by president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee G. Parameshwara, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge, among others.
Lashes out at Modi
Later, Mr. Gandhi addressed the public at Town Hall Circle here after a road show in the city. He then held road shows at Guluru, Honnuduke Hand-post, Nagavalli, and Hebburu.
In his speeches, Mr. Gandhi came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and lashed out at him for implementing demonetisation and introducing GST.
