The Lingayat movement, which drew national attention in the run-up to the State Assembly elections, is back after a lull and, this time, the action has shifted to the national capital.
The stage is now set for a three-day conference and rally at Talkatora Indoor Stadium in New Delhi from December 10 to pressure the Union government to give its nod to the Karnataka government’s recommendation on according religious minority tag to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats (believers of Basava Tatva).
Mathe Mahadev of Basava Dharma Peetha, Koodalasangama, the religious head who began the campaign a year before Assembly elections, will be in Delhi besides the Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha, an offshoot of the movement.
Lingyats from other southern States and Maharashtra will also join the programme.
This March, the Congress government in Karnataka had sent the proposal to the Centre based on the recommendation by the Karnataka State Minorities Commission.
It is currently pending before the Centre and is also before the High Court of Karnataka.
While scores of seers from various Lingayat mutts are expected to participate in the event, invitations have been extended to leaders of all political parties, including the BJP, whose leaders have accused the previous Congress government of “dividing” the Lingayat community.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to inaugurate the event.
However, the decision of Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda to participate in the event has drawn criticism from Kalaburagi’s Veerashaiva-Lingayat Swabhimanigala Balaga, a community outfit that does not want religious minority status but wants reservation.
