Siddaramaiah tried to divide Lingayats says Shamnur

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.”