Defensive BJP attacks Siddaramaiah over ‘corrupt Lingayat CM’ remark, says community will teach Congress a lesson

The interview by a Kannada news channel was telecast live on April 22.

BJP leaders lashed out at the remarks, accusing Siddaramaiah of hurting the community, which they said would teach Congress a lesson in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections.

The official handle of Karnataka BJP shared the clip accusing Siddaramaiah of making “insensitive, (and) hateful remarks” by calling an entire community corrupt. “This is unpardonable. The seven crore Kannadigas who follow the ideals of Jagadguru Basavanna will never forgive him,” the BJP tweeted the same day.

On Sunday, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who hails from the Lingayat community, attacked the Congress leader. “Everybody knows that any Lingayat CM or minister, or of any other community, will perform based on their abilities. Any shortcomings will be at his (minister’s) individual level. But, calling an entire community is hurtful,” he said.

Bommai compared it with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the Modi surname, adding that insulting communities was “Congress culture”. Incidentally, Gandhi was also in Karnataka Sunday participating in the Basava Jayanthi celebrations of Basavanna, a socio-religious reformer who founded the Lingayat sect.

On his part, Siddaramaih said he had not made any controversial remarks and that his statements were misrepresented. “I said Basavaraj Bommai is corrupt. I did not call the entire community corrupt,” he said. The BJP was trying to depict him as anti-Lingayat, he said, adding that it was not possible as he had great respect for the Lingayat community.

The two CMs in the recent BJP rule, B S Yediyurappa and Bommai, both hail from the Lingayat community. Recently, the BJP has come under attack from Congress as two senior Lingayat leaders in the state unit of the BJP—former CM Jagadish Shettar and former deputy CM Laxman Savadi—quit the party and joined the Opposition party.