Begnaluru: The Home Ministry has forwarded the state government's recommendation to grant religious minority status to the Lingayats to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, saying the issue is beyond its jurisdiction, an official said on Thursday.
"The proposal to grant the minority status on Lingayats and Veerashaivas in Karnataka has been sent to the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The matter is now being dealt by it," the Home Ministry official said.
The Home Ministry had put up the proposal to the Registrar General and Census Commissioner for detailed examination and suggestions and it was later decided to sent it to the Minority Affairs Ministry, he added.
The official said the issue was "beyond the MHA jurisdiction and hence was forwarded to the Ministry of Minorities Affairs, which is the competent authority to take a decision."
According to the official, a decision on the issue is not expected soon as the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in Karnataka, where Assembly elections are due on May 12.
On March 19, the Karnataka government had decided to declare the Lingayats as a religious minority, as well as include Veerashaivas as a group within the community. The state then forwarded the proposal to the Centre for approval and notification under the National Commission for Minorities Act.
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New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday hit back at BJP president J P Nadda over his allegation that the opposition party was pushing a politically motivated narrative on the issue of Manipur, saying his letter to Mallikarjun Kharge is a "4D exercise - denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation".
Nadda on Friday accused the Congress of pushing an "incorrect, false and politically" motivated narrative on the issue of Manipur unrest, as he hit back at Kharge for seeking President Droupadi Murmu's intervention and alleging the Centre's complete failure in defusing the crisis.
In a rejoinder to Kharge, Nadda claimed the repercussions of the Congress's "abject failure" in dealing with local issues in Manipur when it was in power are being felt even today.
Hitting back at Nadda, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Congress President Kharge ji wrote to the President of India on Manipur. Apparently to counter that letter, the BJP President has now written to the Congress President."
"Naddaji's letter is, not surprisingly, full of falsehoods and is a 4D exercise - denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation," he said in a post on X.
The people of Manipur are yearning for normalcy, peace, and harmony to return to the state at the earliest, Ramesh said.
"Towards this end they are asking four simple questions: When will the PM visit the state? How much longer will the CM continue to be inflicted on the state, when a majority of MLAs are not in his support? When will a full-time Governor for the state be appointed? When will the Union Home Minister take responsibility for his abject failures in Manipur?" Ramesh said.
In his letter, Nadda told Kharge what is shocking is how repeated attempts are being made by the Congress party to sensationalise the situation in Manipur, he told Kharge.
He said Kharge seemed to have forgotten that not only did his government legitimise the illegal migration of foreign militants to India, the then home minister P Chidambaram had signed treaties with them.
The Congress has been attacking the prime minister for not visiting Manipur, besides slamming the Centre for its handling of the situation in the ethnic strife-torn northeastern state.
More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.