Religious leaders are supposed to be detached and ‘liberated’ from the affairs of the world, but the manner in which dozens of Lingayat seers have openly dabbled in politics by lobbying for the continuation of B S Yediyurappa as Karnataka Chief Minister is an indication of how far they have strayed from the path of renunciation. The doctrine of separation of Church and State calls for a distance between the political apparatus and religious organisations, but this line has been breached all too often. The political clout that these men in ochre robes wield has never been in doubt, but to dictate to a political party that a Chief Minister should not be removed only because he belongs to their community does not auger well for democracy and secularism. It is a different matter though that, irrespective of the party, it is usually an undemocratic ‘high command’ that has the final say in the choice of the Chief Minister, and not the MLAs as mandated by the Constitution. Nonetheless, religious and spiritual leaders have no business to play the role of power brokers.
While all political parties are guilty of pandering to various mutts and their heads in view of their supposed influence over their followers, the BJP has taken it to an altogether different level in its bid to shred secularism, a basic requirement of democracy, and wield its Hindutva ideology to gain political dominance. It has come back to bite the party, as the seers threaten to derail the BJP’s electoral prospects if it dares replace Yediyurappa. The BJP has already had a taste of it during the 2013 Assembly elections, when the seers threw their weight behind Yediyurappa who had floated his own outfit, the Karnataka Janata Party, leading to the BJP’s defeat in many seats. It is no secret that many religious leaders interfere in the government’s functioning and exert pressure on the Chief Minister to induct their favourites as ministers and officers in plum posts. But what is most unfortunate is that the effect of what the seers have said openly has the effect of dividing people on the basis of caste and community.
If the seers are keen on a life of politics, they should drop the pretence of renunciation and contest elections, as Yogi Adityanath and others have done. People look up to seers and saints with great reverence. They bring no honour to themselves by indulging in political manoeuvres. Politics and religion will both retain legitimacy only so long as they remain separate.