Lingayat–Veerashaiva split: Will Minister Mallikarjuna, his MLA father quit Cong to join BJP?

coastaldigest.com news network
March 21, 2018

Congress veteran and Veerashaiva strongman Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who is also a party MLA, and his son SS Mallikarjuna, who is a minister in Siddaramaiah government, have openly revolted against the decision indicating that they may even quit the party to join BJP.

Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who is also the president of All India Veerashaiva – Lingayat Mahasabha, the powerful body of the sect, had welcomed the decision of the government on Monday. In a sudden development he did a U-turn the next day.

Speaking to media, he said, “I had hastily welcomed it on Monday. I have now realised that it was a mistake because the state recommendation sent to the Centre clearly states that whoever follows Basava tatva or philosophy can be considered a religious minority. We are opposing it because the Veerashaiva sect was there even before Basavana, who founded the Lingayat religion in 12th century. We feel that we have been betrayed by the government.”

Moments after the revolt, state BJP president BS Yeddyurappa has dropped a bombshell by saying that a top Congress leader will join the BJP soon. The party insiders are claiming that Shamanur and son will join the BJP after the Rajya Sabha election on Friday.

The father–son belong to Sadara Lingayats, which is a powerful sub-sect among the Lingayats. Their population is concentrated in central Karnataka districts of Davanagere, Chitradurga and Haveri.

The Lingayat seers backing the separate religion movement argue that Veerashaivas are not Lingayats because they are a Hindu sect who believe in Vedic system and scriptures.

According to top ministers in the Congress government, an earlier recommendation to declare Veerashaiva–Lingayats as religious minorities was rejected by the Centre on the grounds that Veerashaivas are a part of Hindu religion.

“Because of that we have sent a cleverly worded recommendation which states that Veerashaivas, who follow Basava tatva or philosophy, can also be considered a religious minority. Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s adamant and impractical nature will harm the entire community,” said a senior Congress leader.

A few days ago, Shamanur had a secret meeting with Yeddyurappa at Tumkur near Bengaluru. But both had denied the rumours that Shamanur was joining the saffron party.

Comments

Hari
 - 
Wednesday, 21 Mar 2018

Kumar.. One correction, Not only congis.. almost all politiocians are same. Where they will get seat or position, they will jump to there. Common phenomena

Ganesh
 - 
Wednesday, 21 Mar 2018

Most of the Congi leaders are RSS. They will jump while they are getting seat  in BJP

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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News Network
December 2,2025

DKSsiddu.jpg

Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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