Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Prabhakar Kore, MP, who is also a prominent Lingayat leader, has sparked another controversy saying Lingayatism is neither a religion nor a caste.
“At best, it is a way of life similar to the one conceptualised by saints and spiritual leaders such as Gautam Buddha,” he said at a function to celebrate Basava Jayanti here on Tuesday.
It was organised by the district administration, Belagavi City Corporation and the Kannada and Culture Department.
However, Mr. Kore also said that “Lingayatism as a way of life” was his personal view only. It had come a long way like a tradition, he added.
His remarks, which are likely to snowball into a controversy among Lingayats, Veerashaivas and the mutts representing these communities , come close on the heels of another statement where he had threatened to support the demand for statehood for north Karnataka if the government failed to recommend Belagavi for setting up the Indian Institute of Technology.
Sanjay B. Patil, MLA, the former Mayor and veteran Lingayat leader Siddangouda Patil, Deputy Commissioner N. Jayaram, and Superintendent of Police Ravikanthe Gowda were present.
