HUBBALLI: Expressing anguish over the Caste Census report considered by the state government, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Arvind Bellad stated that “the caste census conducted by the Siddaramaiah government, without undertaking door-to-door data collection, is nothing but a conspiracy to divide society”.
He added that it is a wake-up call for all communities. Repremanding the government for considering the report, he said, “It is not a census, but just a toolkit of the Congress’ appeasement politics.”
Over efforts to further divide the Lingayat community, Bellad, a prominent Lingayat leader, said that by separating 66.35 lakh Lingayats and 10.49 lakh Veerashaiva Lingayats, and further dividing them into sub-sects like Banajiga, Ganiga, Sadara, Uppara, Kudu Vokkaliga, Jangama, and others, Siddaramaiah is trying to weaken the very existence of the Lingayat community.