Bengaluru: Seems like the Lingayat separate religion conflicts are still burning from within, as the former state home minister and MLA M B Patil has yet again reiterated his stand in connection to the Lingayat separate religion row.
Addressing the gathering at book release programme of Professor S G Siddaramaiah here on Saturday, July 27, he said, “I would like to repeat that I am not a culprit when it comes to Lingayat separate religion row. Lingayat religion is just like any other independent religion. This is my personal opinion. When the movement had begun, some of the leaders of Lingayat religion themselves wanted to have a separate religion and wanted the matter to be upheld. Now after all that has happened, I’m made the scapegoat in this matter and being treated like a sinner.”
Explaining further, Patil said, “When I had received a lot of requests, during my CM tenure, suggesting to have Lingayat as a separate religion. At that point in time I had suggested all the Lingayat leaders and the government to hold discussions and arrive at conclusion. For that, I myself had setup a committee and later had sent a report to the Centre. Next is history, as you all know, what kind of political strategies were drawn.”
“I’ve not committed any mistake and sin as in the committee meeting it was decided collectively that we’ll go for a separate religion and further changes were made in the reports submitted to the Centre. Now, I find people making a villain out of me, holding me responsible,” he said.
It can be recalled that a report was submitted to the state cabinet in March 2, 2018 with a recommendation of status to Lingayat community under “Religious Minority”, for which the then chief minister Siddaramaiah had notified to give a status of “Religious Minority” under Section 2 (d) of the Karnataka State Minorities Act, 1994. Former state law minister T B Jayachandra too had recommended the Centre to notify Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats as “Religious Minority”, under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities, 2005 for final approval.
