Senior Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa hits out at Siddaramaiah over Lingayat issue
Bengaluru, July 28: Veteran Karnataka Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa on Sunday asserted Veerashaivas and Lingayats are two faces of the same coin and hit out at his party colleague and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of having tried to divide the community in the past.
He was reacting to Siddaramaiah's statement on Saturday that 'Basava Dharma' was an independent religion, which is neither inside nor outside of Hinduism.
"... let's not discuss those issues, we have been saying same thing since beginning that Veerashaiva and Lingayat are one, two faces of the same coin, we are following it," Shivashankarappa, also the President of All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, said.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "let's not try to break it, we are all united."
Responding to a question about Siddaramaiah's remarks, he said, "is Siddaramaiah a Lingayat? He has given his opinion, what can I do with it? He tried to divide it, but sidetracked as he could not..."
The Veerashaiva-Lingayat community that owes allegiance to the 12th century "social reform movement" initiated by Basaveshwara and has a substantial population in Karnataka, especially in the northern parts, has sided with the BJP.
The community was a divided house ahead of the2018 assembly polls amid a move by the then Congress government led by Siddaramaiah to accord "religious minority" status to the Lingayat faith.
The demand for a separate religion tag toVeerashaiva-Lingayat faiths had surfaced from the numerically strong and politically influential community, amid resentment from within over projecting the two communities as the same.
While, one section led by Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha had asserted that Veerashaiva and Lingayats are the same and religious status be given to them, the other group wanted it only for Lingayats as they believe Veerashaivas are one among the seven sects of Shaivas, which is part of Hinduism.
Veerashaiva-Lingayats are estimated to form 17 per cent of the state's population and considered to have a significant presence in about 140 out of total 224 assembly constituencies in the state and are decisive in about 90 seats.
The separate religion tag move was said to be one of the reasons for the Congress’ set back with respect to the community during the assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
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Kerala court sentences man to life imprisonment for doc's murder in hospital
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Kollam (PTI): A teacher convicted in the sensational murder of Dr Vandana Das inside a hospital here was sentenced to life term on Saturday, and the prosecution said it will move an appeal seeking death penalty for the accused. The victim's family also batted for "maximum punishment".
Dr Das was brutally killed inside a taluk hospital in May 2023 by G Sandeep.
Kollam Additional District and Sessions judge P N Vinod sentenced Sandeep to a total of 30 years for various offences under the then Indian Penal Code (IPC) and said that after he serves that period, his life imprisonment for Das' murder will commence.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.35 lakh on the convict.
Though the prosecution had sought death penalty for the accused during the arguments on sentence, the court was of the view that the case does not fall under the rarest-of-rare category to warrant the maximum punishment.
It was also of the view that there was a chance of the convict getting reformed as he told the court that the rest of his life would be one of repentance, the order on sentence said.
"At the same time, I agree with the stand of the prosecution to the effect that the sentence should commensurate with the gravity of the crime and the sentence should not only be reformative, but should also have a deterrent effect."
"In my view, the said objective can be achieved by directing that the term sentences that will be imposed will run consecutively and life sentence that has to be imposed will commence only after the expiration of terms sentences," the judge said.
After the verdict, special public prosecutor (SPP) Prathap G Padickal told reporters outside the court that he will recommend to the prosecution to file an appeal seeking enhancement of the life imprisonment to death penalty.
The victim's father said that the verdict has come as a relief for the family, but that he cannot authoritatively say whether his late daughter has got justice. He indicated his dissatisfaction with the punishment, saying that steps will be taken to seek its enhancement after discussions with the public prosecutor.
Dr Das' mother said that the family can only wish for the maximum punishment and it was up to the court to decide what sentence should be given. She said that the family will go in appeal, but declined to comment on whether her daughter got justice.
She tearfully said that she wants the convict to suffer the same pain that her daughter underwent "as he stabbed her 27 times".
The court on March 17 had convicted Sandeep for various offences under the IPC, including murder, destruction of evidence and wrongful restraint.
It had also held him guilty under the provisions of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of violence and damage to property) Act 2012.
Sandeep was brought to the taluk hospital by the police for medical treatment during the small hours of May 10, 2023 and he went on a sudden attacking spree using a pair of surgical scissors kept in the room where his leg injury was being dressed.
A school teacher by profession, he had initially attacked the police officers and another person who had accompanied him to the hospital and then turned on the young Dr Das, who could not escape to safety.
She was stabbed several times and later succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where she was rushed following the attack.
Dr Das was a native of the Kaduthuruthy area of Kottayam district and the only child of her parents.
She was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training.
Sandeep had called the emergency number 112, claiming that his life was in danger. When local police located him, he was standing close by his home, surrounded by local residents and his relatives, and had a wound on his leg following an alleged quarrel.
He was then taken to the hospital for dressing the wound.
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