State home minister MB Patil hits out at DKS for Lingayat apology

VIJAYAPURA:

State home minister MB Patil

, who led the agitation seeking a separate religious identity for

Lingayats

, slammed his

cabinet colleague DK Shivakumar

on Friday, saying he shouldn’t have apologised on behalf of the previous

Siddaramaiah-led government

for supporting the demand.


“Who gave the power to Shivakumar to apologise on behalf of the Congress (government). Why did he issue such an embarrassing statement? I will bring this to the notice of the party high command,” Patil told reporters, dropping a fresh bombshell less than a week ahead of the elections.

Patil wondered why Shivakumar, who is the water resources minister, said sorry when the Congress or Siddaramaiah-led government had nothing to do with the agitation. “And who is he to apologise? He was not the party president then?” he said.

Patil had some advice for Shivakumar: instead of worrying about Lingayats’ issues, Shivakumar, as a Vokkaliga leader, should focus on Vokkaliga-dominated constituencies in old Mysuru region and ensure the Congress got maximum votes.

Ahead of the May 2018 assembly polls, a the Siddaramaiah government had constituted a panel that later recommended a religious minority tag for the Lingayats, a proposal which was rejected by the central government. All the Lingayat ministers who had supported the demand for a separate identity for the community lost in the assembly polls.

Before the Ballari by-poll last year, Shivakumar tendered an apology over the sensitive issue at the Rambhapuri Peetha in Laxmeshwar, Gadag district. He said no government should interfere in the religion, caste or culture-related matters. “The Congress government, of which I was also a part, made the mistake and we also saw the consequences of it in the 2018 assembly polls. The issue was rankling in my mind as it was against my conscience. I found an appropriate time and opportunity to express my feelings,” he had said.

Learning a lesson from that the assembly election debacle, the Congress candidate for Dharwad Lok Sabha segment, Vinay Kulkarni, has been staying clear of the issue in his campaign, about a year after he strongly supported the identity demand.