Patil hopes to get Lingayats to rally behind Congress ahead of Assembly polls
BELAGAVI: Recalling how the movement for a separate Lingayat religion was projected in bad light by several leaders prior to the last Assembly elections in the state, former minister and senior Congress leader MB Patil said the party will strive to take all Lingayats in the state into confidence and attempt to get them to rally behind it before the next Assembly polls.
While ruling out that it would become an election issue again, Patil, who was in the forefront of the movement, said, “The issue of separate religion for Lingayats was projected differently by some people when it was raised earlier. And we all know how the leaders played games at that time.’’ Speaking to the media on Friday, he said the movement for a religion tag for Lingayats began in the 12th century and attempts were also made by several leaders in the late 1930s and early 40s in the country.
When asked if he was being projected as an alternative to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Patil only said it is up to the people to decide who is their leader. “Yediyurappa always has been a tall leader among Lingayats. He also has a huge support of most Lingayat MLAs in North Karnataka,’’ he said. “The Congress too has many able Lingayat leaders including Prakash Hukkeri, A B Patil, Eshwar Khandre, etc., who are equally popular in the state. We (Congress) stumbled somewhere, we are trying to regain the lost image,’’ he said. On the tussle among party leaders over the next CM candidate, Patil said, “No one can declare themselves as CM candidate.’’
Congress MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar too said the party will work on getting all Lingayats in North Karnataka to support it in the coming days. To a question that Lingayats suffered injustice during the Congress’ tenure, she defended saying, “The party took people of all sections into confidence and treated them equally while trying to respond to their problems.’’ she said.