Did not try to divide Veerashaivas, Lingayats: Siddaramaiah to seer
Chikkamagaluru, Aug 19: Prasanna Veerasomeshwara Shivacharya Swami of Rambhapuri Mutt on Friday said former chief minister Siddaramaiah confided to him that he did not attempt to divide Veerashaivas and Lingayats and that he was "misled" by some people.
He said the Leader of Opposition today clarified to him regarding the push to accord a separate religion status to Lingayats when the Congress leader was the Chief Minister.
Siddaramaiah visited Rambhapuri Mutt at Balehonnur here.
"Earlier, when he (Siddaramaiah) was the Chief Minister of the State, there were allegations that he was supporting an attempt to divide Lingayats from Veerashaiva dharma. Today, he spoke his mind in front of me," the seer said adding: "He told me: I did not make any such attempt, but some people tried to mislead me. I repent for it."
Speaking to reporters here, he said, " He (Siddaramaiah) told me: I will never interfere in matters of religion, and want to work for the development of the State and its people in the days to come..."
Siddaramaiah and his government were accused of trying to divide Veerashaiva-Lingayats by making a recommendation for religious minority status for Lingayats.
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West Bengal board declares class 10 exam results, 86.83 pc students pass
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal board's class 10 results were declared on Friday, with 86.83 per cent of the total 9.71 lakh candidates passing the examination, an official said.
In last year's Madhyamik Pariksha, 86.56 per cent of the 9.84 lakh students were declared successful, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education president Ramanuj Ganguly said.
This year's examination was held from February 2 to February 12 at over 2,600 centres across the state, he said.
Abhirup Bhadra of Sarada Vidyamandir in Uttar Dinajpur district bagged the first rank, securing 698 of 700 marks. Priyotosh Mukhopadhyay of Sarojinidevi Saraswati Sishu Mandir in Birbhum was declared second with 696 marks. The third rank was shared by three students.
A total of 131 students secured the top 10 ranks, of whom 28 were girls.
Kalimpong recorded the highest percentage at 95.01, followed by Purba Medinipur at 94.02 and Kolkata at 92.31.
