Congress govt in Karnataka again faces fire from its own: Lingayat officers being ‘sidelined’

Shivashankarappa on Saturday told the media that he had “told the truth” after accepting the Hangal Kumaraswamy award conferred by the Mahasabha. “Many (officers) are not given posts. Only their followers are,” he said.

Shivashankarappa alleged that Lingayats were getting a raw deal. He said during the tenures of CMs such as S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil — both Lingayats — the community was treated well. “Now, we are left helpless,” he said. On the demands for a Deputy CM berth for a Lingayat leader, he said that the post was pointless. “What can you do with a Deputy CM post? If at all, a CM should be made (from the community),” he added.

Since 2008, five of the nine Karnataka CMs have been from the Lingayat community, the last being Basavaraj Bommai under the previous BJP government. BJP national executive member B S Yediyurappa was the CM thrice — once for just six days in 2018 — and MLC Jagadish Shettar, who joined the Congress from the BJP ahead of the polls this year, was the CM once for around 10 months. The others who have been CMs in this period are incumbent Siddaramaiah who is from the Kuruba community, H D Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular) who is a Vokkaliga, and former Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda who is from the Tulu Gowda community.

The Lingayat community is predominantly based in the state’s northern districts and makes up an estimated 17% of the population. The Vokkaligas are the second-largest group in Karnataka and account for 15% of the population.

The grouse, publicly aired by Shivshankarappa, has been simmering for the last four to five weeks, according to sources. The alleged sidelining of Lingayat officers was discussed at an event of a cooperative bank run by the community. An association of Lingayat officers then recently went to the Mahasabha with their grievance.

“While Lingayat officers enjoy prominent berths when CMs are from their community, such as Yediyurappa and Bommai, postings are changed when a new government takes over. Officers of the community have highlighted the transfer of eight deputy commissioners from the community to other posts, transfer of several secretary-level officers and police officials in their complaint,” said a source.

What Yediyurappa and the CM said

The BJP, meanwhile, welcomed Shivashankarappa’s comments. The BJP took a hit in the Assembly polls after a section of Lingayats, who have traditionally backed the party in the last two decades, supported the Congress, ensuring its landslide win. Of the 46 Lingayat candidates fielded by Congress, 37 won. The BJP saw 15 of its 69 Lingayat candidates win. While the BJP won 31 of the 113 seats in the Lingayat belt, compared with 56 in 2018, the Congress upped its tally from 50 to 78.

Yediyurappa, who belongs to the Banajiga subsect of the Veerashaiva Lingayats, said, “Shivashankarappa is the national president of the Veerashaiva community body. The feelings that he has expressed. I am in complete agreement with it… In such a situation I call upon the Veerashaiva Lingayat community to awaken, and to unite.”

Siddaramaiah, however, dismissed his party colleague’s accusations. He told reporters on Sunday that the state government “(treats) all castes equally”, highlighting that the guarantee schemes of his government were benefiting all groups. Earlier, he had noted that there were seven Lingayat ministers in his Cabinet and the party “will not do injustice to members of any caste or religion”.

Shivashankarappa has had several public spats with Siddaramaiah in the past. In 2016, when he was about to be dropped from the Cabinet, he lashed out at the CM saying, “I travel by an Innova car as minister. I will travel by (Mercedes) Benz if dropped.” He was replaced by his son S S Mallikarjun in the Cabinet.