Organisation calls ABVM resolutions ‘a bunch of contradictions’

The Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha (JLM), which is fighting for ‘religious minority’ status for Lingayats, has cautioned the Centre of an agitation across six States (where the community members are spread) if their demand is not met and if the proposal by the Karnataka government on this issue is not accepted.

JLM leaders, at a press conference here on Friday, described the resolutions passed by the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha (ABVM) on Friday as “a bunch of contradictions.”

ABVM has opposed the State government’s notification identifying “Lingayat and Veerashaiva-Lingayats [believers of Basava Tatva]” as “religious minority” and sought the tag under the nomenclature of “Veearshaiva Lingayat.” S.M. Jamadar, secretary general of JLM, on Saturday, said that ABVM was no more a representative body of the entire Lingayat community and it was JLM which had succeeded in its struggle to get the minority status.

With the State government issuing notification on granting the minority status, the ball is now in the court of the Union government.

“Failure on the part of the Centre to honour our justified demand would lead to Lingayats, across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, launching an agitation,” Mr. Jamadar cautioned. “Earlier, the Lingyat community was not organised. Now the Karnataka government has provided a platform by according recognition,” he said, adding that agitation would be peaceful and apolitical.

Addressing the media, Mr. Jamadar said that the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had earlier rejected the ABVM’s claim for separate religion status to Veearashaiva-Lingayats in 2013 and the same was sent to the Union Home Ministry. “Yes the file, with the report by NCM, is with the Union Home Ministry. But the fact is that NCM has rejected the proposal of ABVM,” he said, contradicting ABVM’s claim that the proposal was “pending” and can be reopened. “The move of the government notifying minority status to Lingayats is historic,” said Mr. Jamadar. Asserting with documents that Lingayat religion is different from Veerashaiva on 36 counts, he said that latter was Brahminical while the former was a radical new faith.