BENGALURU: BJP MLA and former Union minister Basangouda Patil Yatnal has ignited a storm with his incendiary comments on Basavanna, urging those protesting the Waqf issue to “jump like Basavanna into the river and die”. His statement sent shockwaves through Lingayat and pro-Basava groups.
General secretary of Global Jagathika Lingayat Mahasabha and retired IAS officer SM Jaamdar called the remarks utterly “shocking” and accused Yatnal of “losing all sense of context, time and place”. “His statement seems designed to provoke the majority against the minority, and by invoking Basavanna’s name in this manner, he has crossed the line,” Jaamdar fumed.
Lingayat scholars have also voiced their outrage. Professor Panchakshari Halebeedu condemned Yatnal’s comments as a direct attack on Basavanna. “Some speak out of ignorance, others with a malicious intent. It’s clear Yatnal is trying to insult Basavanna, undermine the Lingayat faith, and erase the powerful truths of Basava philosophy,” he said.
“Yatnal’s words are an insult to the entire Lingayat community,” he declared.
“He is like a spiritual son who has forgotten who his spiritual father is, and is publicly dishonoring his own spiritual lineage.... Basavanna’s legacy is unshakable, and no amount of mud-slinging can diminish it.”
