BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Monday said any effort to politicise separate Lingayat religion demand will not yield results ahead of the Assembly polls in Karnataka.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Yeddyurappa said the BJP will abide by the decisions taken by Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha and Siddaganga Mutt seer Shivakumara swami on the issue. "There is no change in our stand. We will abide by the decisions taken by the Mahasabha and swamiji," he said.
Yeddyurappa has accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of politicising the demand for separate religion tag for Lingayat community for electoral gains. The BJP leader said that AICC president Rahul Gandhi's efforts to divide the state on caste and community lines in Gujarat for the sake of votes had failed miserably.
To a query, whether the BJP was apprehensive whether the Congress will adopt Rahul's "temple visit" strategy in Gujarat to cut into Hindu votes in Karnataka, Yeddyurappa said, "At least for the sake of election, he (Rahul) visited temples. I hope Siddaramaiah, on the same pretext, visits Sri Krishna temple at Udupi". Yeddyurappa was referring to Siddaramaiah skipping entering Sri Krishna Temple during his visits to Udupi.
With the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections over, Yeddyurappa said that he will request BJP national President Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spend more time in Karnataka and address party conventions ahead of the next year's Assembly elections.
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