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'Basava Dharma' is an independent religion: Siddaramaiah

In a controversial remark, Congress leader Siddaramaiah has claimed that Basava Dharma should be an independent religion and does not come under the purview of Hinduism. The Congress leader said he never expressed his views as chief minister of the state for he had to take everyone's views on the topic.

'Basava Dharma' is an independent religion: Siddaramaiah
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Published : Jul 27, 2019, 11:28 PM IST

Bengaluru: In remarks that could trigger a row, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said 'Basava Dharma' was an independent religion, which is neither inside nor outside of Hinduism.

By 'Basava Dharma', Siddaramaiah was apparently referring to the Lingayat sect founded by 12th century AD social reformer Basaveshwara in North Karnataka.

Voicing his opinion for the first time on according separate religion tag to the Lingayat sect during his tenure as chief minister, Siddaramaiah said "Basava Dharma is a separate religion just like Buddhism and Jainism. I am of the opinion that it is an independent religion."

The Congress leader said he never expressed his views as chief minister of the state for he had to take everyones views on the topic.

According to him, Basaveshwara had fought against social evils prevailing in society, especially casteism and kept the philosophy of
benevolence, compassion and charity as the centre piece of his sect.

Drawing a parallel between the teachings of Basaveshwara and the Constitution, he said "those are anti-social whose deeds are contrary to the constitution."

His remark came hours after he termed the BJP government led by Lingayat strongman and new chief minister BS Yediyurappa in the state unconstitutional and unethical as the party with 105 MLAs was way off the halfway mark (111seats) of the existing strength of 221 in the Karnataka assembly.

Read: BJP govt in K'taka signals victory of horse-trading: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: In remarks that could trigger a row, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said 'Basava Dharma' was an independent religion, which is neither inside nor outside of Hinduism.

By 'Basava Dharma', Siddaramaiah was apparently referring to the Lingayat sect founded by 12th century AD social reformer Basaveshwara in North Karnataka.

Voicing his opinion for the first time on according separate religion tag to the Lingayat sect during his tenure as chief minister, Siddaramaiah said "Basava Dharma is a separate religion just like Buddhism and Jainism. I am of the opinion that it is an independent religion."

The Congress leader said he never expressed his views as chief minister of the state for he had to take everyones views on the topic.

According to him, Basaveshwara had fought against social evils prevailing in society, especially casteism and kept the philosophy of
benevolence, compassion and charity as the centre piece of his sect.

Drawing a parallel between the teachings of Basaveshwara and the Constitution, he said "those are anti-social whose deeds are contrary to the constitution."

His remark came hours after he termed the BJP government led by Lingayat strongman and new chief minister BS Yediyurappa in the state unconstitutional and unethical as the party with 105 MLAs was way off the halfway mark (111seats) of the existing strength of 221 in the Karnataka assembly.

Read: BJP govt in K'taka signals victory of horse-trading: Siddaramaiah

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'Basava Dharma' is an independent religion, says Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Jul 27 (PTI) In remarks that could trigger a
row, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Saturday said 'Basava
Dharma' was an independent religion, which is neither inside
nor outside of Hinduism.
By 'Basava Dharma', Siddaramaiah was apparently
referring to the Lingayat sect founded by 12th century AD
social reformer Basaveshwara in North Karnataka.
Voicing his opinion for the first time on according
separate religion tag to the Lingayat sect during his tenure
as chief minister, Siddaramaiah said "Basava Dharma is a
separate religion just like Buddhism and Jainism. It is
neither inside nor outside Hinduism.
"I am of the opinion that it is an independent
religion," he said at the launch of two books 'Lingayat
Kannada Vachanadharma' and 'Vachanadharma Arivina Beragu
authored by poet S G Siddaramaiah at Gandhi Bhavan here.
The Congress leader said he never expressed his views
as chief minister of the state for he had to take eveybodys
views on the topic.
Basaveshwara had fought against social evils prevailing
in society, especially casteism and kept the philosophy of
benevolence, compassion and charity as the centrepiece of his
sect.
Drawing a parallel between the teachings of
Basaveshwara and the Constitution, he said "those are
anti-social whose deeds are contrary to the constitution."
His remark came hours after he termed the BJP
government led by Lingayat strongman and new chief minister B
S Yediyurappa in the state unconstitutional and unethical as
the party with 105 MLAs was way off the halfway mark (111
seats) of the existing strength of 221 in the Karnataka
assembly.
The former chief minister likened casteism as dust
settled on top of the water.
"If someone wants to drink the water then the person
has to remove the layer of dust," Siddaramaiah said, adding
that if the dust was not removed, it will permanently settle
and spoil the quality of water.
Speaking about challenges faced by people who wanted to
uproot the social evil, he said everyone who fought against it
had to face the consequences.
Siddaramaiah, however, rued that he became the scapegoat
on granting separate religion tag to Lingayat sect.
When he was the chief minister his government
championed for the cause of separate religion tag to
Lingayat-Veerashaiva sect just ahead of the Assembly
election in 2018.
The BJP had then termed it as a desperate bid to retain
power by dividing Hindus.
Congress lost about 42 seats in the 2018 election
compared to its performance in 2013. The Lingayat issue is
said to be one of the major reasons behind it.
Explaining what went wrong, Siddaramaiah said the idea
was mooted by the religious leaders of the Lingayat sect and
he had asked them to come together.
However, they did not turn up and he had to take the
lead. As a result, he was projected as a villain by his
opponents, he added. PTI GMS
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