New Delhi: For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been on the defensive in the poll-bound state of Karnataka over allegations that it has humiliated the Lingayat community, the latest remarks by senior Congress Siddaramaiah leader have come as a shot in the arm.
“There’s already a Lingayat CM (B.S. Bommai). He is the root of all corruption in the state,” Siddaramaiah had said in an interview on a Kannada news channel on Saturday, April 22. The video is now widely shared by the BJP on social media, dubbing the former chief minister as “anti-Lingayat”.
BJP leaders, including chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, were quick to launch a scathing attack on Siddaramaiah. “It is not right for a former CM to make a statement like this. He has said that the entire Lingayat community is corrupt. The Brahmin community had been ridiculed in the past. Earlier, he had tried to break the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community when he was chief minister. The people of the state will teach Siddaramaiah a lesson,” Bommai said.
The Lingayat community, which is said to be around 17% of the state’s population, according to various estimates, is considered a decisive electoral constituency with the potential to affect the outcome of the election.
Responding to the BJP’s criticism, Siddaramaiah was quick to clarify that his remarks were “twisted and misinterpreted” by the BJP. “My comments referred only to Bommai. I only said Basavaraj Bommai alone is corrupt. I did not say Lingayats are corrupt. Therefore, making such a sweeping report is inappropriate. There have been very honest Lingayat chief ministers. There was S. Nijalingappa, Virendra Patil and others for whom I have a lot of respect as they were very honest chief ministers. My comments have been twisted and misinterpreted by the BJP,” he said, according to NDTV.
With the removal of top Lingayat leader B.S. Yeddyurappa as chief minister and the high-profile exits of Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi, the BJP is said to be on the defensive over criticism that it has humiliated and neglected the community. The Congress party has been at the forefront of this criticism. Against this backdrop, Siddaramaih’s comment assumes significance, with the BJP leveraging it to paint him as “anti-Lingayat”.
Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, a Lingayat himself, stood in support of Siddaramaiah. “Why have they started it now? Why did they not do so earlier? BJP is doing it only for election purposes, people will not believe in their campaign even if they declare a Lingayat CM,” Shettar, who recently quit the BJP to join Congress, said.