Lingayats seek Cong help to treat them as part of 'mainstream'

New Delhi, July 27 (UNI) Several prominent Lingayat Congress leaders from Karnataka today called on UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to impress upon her to take the community into ''mainstream'' if the party wanted to strengthen its base in the state.

The delegation of Lingayat leaders, who are also known as Veerashaivas, informed Ms Gandhi that the party had always won the elections whenever it was led by the representative of the majority Veerashaiva community who constituted about 20 per cent of the state's population.

The community was part and parcel of the Congress in the pre-independence struggle and many leaders, from former vice president B D Jatti, former Congress president S Nijalingappa to former Chief Minister Veerendra Patil had helped strengthen the party's base.

Talking to newspersons after the 20-minute meeting, former MP G S Basavaraj and former Minister M Mahadev and S S Patil said the politically powerful community was only seeking to get its due weightage in the AICC, Congress Working Committee and while reconstituting the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. ''We did not make any complaint against anybody or any castes getting their representation,'' they said.

The leaders said the Veerashaivas were very happy about the UPA government coming out with a 'Basava coin', making 12th century saint philosopher Basaveshwara, the first Kannadiga to figure in the history of numismatics.

''We have invited Ms Gandhi to attend the conference of the Veerashaiva congressmen at Kudala Sangama in the last week of August and she has given a positive reaction,'' Mr Basavaraj said adding that her presence in Kudala Sangama would give a phenomenal boost to the Congress leadership, making the party stage a comeback on its own strength.

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