The pontiff of a major Lingayat mutt in Dharwad on Thursday raised the issue of separate religion status for the community with visiting BJP President Amit Shah.
Mallikarjuna Swami of the Murugha Mutt received Shah upon his arrival at the Lingayat shrine on Thursday. Later, the seer appealed to the BJP chief to bring the Lingayat issue to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fulfil their demand.
Shah, who spent 30 minutes in the mutt, is believed to have promised all possible help.
Several people in the mutt called on Shah and submitted memoranda urging him to accord separate religion status to Lingayats.
The BJP chief also visited the centuries-old Siddharoodha Mutt and the Moorusavir Mutt in Hubballi before holding a road-show from Moorusavir Mutt to Durgad Bail. Earlier in the day, Shah visited the residence of Jnanpith awardee Kannada poet Da Ra Bendre. He interacted with poet’s daughter-in-law and received copies of the books authored by Bendre.
Dharna in Dharwad
Shah led Karnataka BJP leaders in observing the party’s countrywide fast against the washout of Parliament’s Budget Session for which the ruling party blames the Opposition.
The BJP chief said the Congress was aware that its could not debate issues in Parliament and therefore did not let either House function.
Addressing party workers before sitting on a dharna in Dharwad, Shah said: “BJP was left with no choice but to go to the people as it is the biggest forum for us.”
“Congress did not want a debate but just wanted to make noise. Congress party does not believe in democracy. It has held democracy hostage in its own household. Congress neither has internal party democracy nor can they save democracy in the country,” he added.
Shah said each hour of running Parliament costs the exchequer ₹2.5 crore. Repeated stalling of House proceedings had resulted in the waste of ₹225 crore, which is an enormous waste of taxpayer money.
Shah accused the Congress of hiring a foreign non-governmental organisation to provide caste-wise census data and create caste-based turmoil in the country.
“You hired a foreign-based NGO and acquired data from them. Then demonstrations happen in Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and now in Karnataka. You are dividing the nation and society. You want to divide India in the name of ‘Bharat Bandh’,” Shah stated amid sloganeering by party workers who had thronged the venue in good number.
Accusing the Congress, the BJP President, a Rajya Sabha MP, said: “A frustrated party wants to spread hatred in the country and is playing divisive politics, but the people of the country understand these tactics very well. Congress has lost all major elections in the country since 2014 and the same will happen in Karnataka soon.”