Pigrims gather as the portals to the Kedarnath shrine opened last Sunday. (PTI photo)

NEW DELHI: The head priest of one of the most revered Hindu shrines, Kedarnath peeth, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the Veershaiva-Lingayat community a religious minority, a fact that could help Congress counter BJP’s accusation that the Siddaramaiah government’s move was intended to divide the majority community.

The Karnataka government recommended to the Centre in March that religious minority status be given to Lingayats while leaving out Veershaivas, drawing flak from the latter.

The ‘Jagadguru’ of Kedarnath peeth, Raval Bhimashankarlinga, told TOI that demand for minority status for Veershaiva-Lingayats was justified. He expressed displeasure with the Karnataka government for “dividing” Veershaivas and Lingayats, saying they were one. “It has been done for political reasons. Our organisation has complained to the state government,” he said.

It emerged that the ‘Jagadguru’ of Kedarnath peeth handed over a letter to PM Narendra Modi during his visit to Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand on October 20, 2017.

The letter detailed that Veershaiva-Lingayat was one of the many “religions” in the country, tracing it back to generations and sages. It stated that the it had five principal “Jagadguru peeth” in Karnataka, Ujjain, Ukhimath, Andhra Pradesh and Kashi.

Saying that followers of the “religion” were spread across states and numbered around five crore, the letter demanded that like Jainism and Buddhism, Veershaiva-Lingayats be granted the status of a religious minority.

The letter on the banner of “Jagadguru Panchacharya Manava Dharma Samstha” was given to Modi when he went to the key Hindu pilgrimage centre on the eve of its closure for the winter season last year.

Five months after the letter was given to Modi, the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka recommended to the Centre that Lingayats be granted minority status. The ruling BJP slammed the decision as an attempt to divide Hindus and part of Congress’s “divide and rule” policy. As much was said by BJP chief Amit Shah on his trip to Karnataka who categorically opposed the move.

The state’s decision came on the eve of assembly elections and was seen as an attempt by Congress to woo the Lingayats who are a support base of B S Yeddyurappa, the chief ministerial face of BJP. While BJP questioned the timing of the Congress government’s decision, attributing it political motives, comments from saffron ranks that it was an attempt to “divide Hindus” has led to Congress countering that it was a longstanding demand of the community.

The home ministry has put the decision on hold but the stance of the ruling party suggests it is unlikely to accept the recommendation.

