Even as the ruling Congress party is caught in a fix on taking a decision in the State Cabinet on the Lingayat row, Head of Basava Dharma Peetha at Koodalasangama, Mathe Mahadevi, has said that the peetha and lakhs of Lingayats support and want the State government to take steps towards recommending minority status to Lingayats.
She told presspersons here on Saturday that the Peetha wanted the government to accept the report of the experts’ committee led by Justice Nagmohan Das on the Lingayat issue and send a recommendation to the Union government based on it immediately. Mathe Mahadevi was first among religious heads to launch an agitation seeking independent religion status to ‘Lingayata Dharma’, even before political leaders jumped into the Lingayat bandwagon.
Taking exception to some of the Veerashaiva religious heads’ demand to scrap the report of the experts’ committee, she said the religious heads had become a “laughing stock” by criticising the experts’ committee, which had given a report after hearing objections and arguments and thoroughly studying the issue. “Now it is the responsibility of the State government to accept the report and recommend minority status to Lingayats.”
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Taking exception to “pressure tactics” by Veerashaiva religious heads, Mathe Mahadevi said she would along with members of pro-Basava organisations would launch a protest at Puttanna Chetty Town Hall in Bengaluru on Sunday.
‘Our right’
Clarifying that Lingayats were seeking their rights she said the issue was of admitting Sri Basaveshwara as the founder of Lingayat Dharma and if followers of Veerashaiva sect accepted this fact, they would automatically come into the Lingayat fold.
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She also clarified that the movement which gained momentum in the last two years had nothing to do with the elections, and Ministers of the State Cabinet and Basavaraj Horatti from JD(S) had joined the movement as they believed they belonged to Lingayata Dharma.
Mathe Mahadevi also took a dig at BJP leader Vijay Sankeshwar saying that being a rich man, he did not understand the plight of poor among the Lingayats. She also condemned his statement about religious heads having taken money to lead the Lingayat movement.
‘No revolt’
Playing down the statement by Veerashaiva seers that there be would be a revolt if the State government took any decision in favour of Lingayats, Mathe Mahadevi said there were more Virakta Mutts (that followed Basavanna) in the State than Veerashaiva Mutts and all would stand in support of the government on the issue.
To a query, she said the Peetha was ready for a debate on the Lingayat issue on any platform.