Senior Congress leader and Davangere South MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa on Sunday said charged that former chief minister Siddaramaiah tried in vain to divide Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, reports DHNS from Gubbi in Tumakuru district

Shamanur told reporters, “Veerashaiva-Lingayats are Hindus. Who is he? Is he a Lingayat to claim that the Lingayats are not Hindus,” he questioned.

To a query on recent statements by Siddaramaiah on the issue, the former minister said, “It is a closed chapter now. There is no need to revive it. Veerashaiva and Lingayats are two faces of the same coin.”