Mysuru: Two state ministers held secret confabulations with Suttur seer to draw his opinion before the scheduled meeting in Bengaluru on Augsut 10 to discuss carving out a separate a Lingayat religion.
Ministers for Water Resources M B Patil and Minister for Mines and Geology Vinay Kulkarni, reached Suttur Matt last afternoon and held a secret meeting with the seer to elicit his opinion on the issue. They sought his blessings initially and sought his guidance to deal with the sensitive issue in the wake of recent developments, sources close to the ministers revealed.
Both the ministers spent more than an hour with the prominent seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji of Suttur Matt, who has considerable influence over the Lingayat community in India and abroad.
The state is in some sort of turmoil with diverse opinions emerging on the issue. Certain sections are demanding separate religion status for Lingayat community to avail special government benefits under minority religion quota akin to Muslims and Christians.
Incidentally Suttur Matt was established in 10th century before Basavanna, the 12th century philosopher who came into prominence on whose teachings the Veerashaiva–Lingayat combine relies.
