Bengaluru: A day after Congress leader Siddaramaiah said Basava Dharma was an independent religion and it was neither inside nor outside of Hinduism, senior party leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa slammed the former Chief Minister for his remarks.

Shivashankarappa said Veerashaivas and Lingayats are two faces of the same coin. He further accused Siddaramaiah of trying to divide the community.

Shivashankarappa is also the President of All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha. Reacting to Siddaramiah’s comments, he said “let’s not try to break it, we are all united.” He further asked whether Siddaramaiah was a Lingayat. The CLP chief had tried to divide it but was sidetracked.

The Veerashaiva-Lingayat community that owes allegiance to the 12th century “social reform movement” initiated by Basaveshwara and has a substantial population in Karnataka, especially in the northern parts, has sided with the BJP.

Congress government led by Siddaramaiah had sought religious minority status to the Lingayat faith. However a section of people in the State demanded for a separate religion tag to Veerashaiva-Lingayat faiths and they projected the two communities as the same. This led to resentment.

Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha led section held that Veerashaiva and Lingayats are the same and thus religious status be given to them. But another group asserted that religious tag should be given only to Lingayats. This group believed that Veerashaivas are one of the seven sects of Shaivas and that they were part of Hinduism.

Veerashaiva-Lingayats are estimated to form 17 per cent of the state’s population and considered to have a significant presence in about 140 out of total 224 assembly constituencies in the state and are decisive in about 90 seats.