Religious minority tag for Lingayats: Centre sends file back to Karnataka

The Centre is likely to return the proposal regarding the separate religion status for Lingayats to the Karnataka government. The Centre would tell the Karnataka government to send a new proposal after further deliberation on the issue.

The proposal sent by the earlier dispensation headed by Siddaramaiah is with the Home Ministry. The Union Home Ministry says that since a new government has come to power, it could re-consider the issue and then send a fresh proposal.

The Karnataka government is however yet to receive any file on this issue. It may be recalled that the Siddaramaiah led Congress government had decided to grant a separate religious status to the Lingayat community. The Home Ministry had studied the proposal and then sent it to the ministry for minority affairs. The ministry after studying the proposal sent it back to the state government for fresh consideration.