‘My comment was on Bommai’: Siddaramaiah clarifies on 'corrupt Lingayat CM' remark

At a time when Congress party is wooing the Lingayat community, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s recent ‘corrupt Lingayat CM’ comment has stoked a fresh controversy. The top Congress leader is facing backlash as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused him of insulting the Lingayat community in the state. Responding to a question on the BJP's stance that a Lingayat should be the next Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah on Saturday, April 22 said "There's already a Lingayat Chief Minister (BS Bommai). He's the root of all the corruption in the state."

BJP launched a fierce attack against Siddaramaih accusing him of insulting the entire Lingayat community. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, "It is not right for a former Chief Minister to make a statement like this. He has stated that the entire Lingayat community is corrupt." He also accused Siddaramaiah of trying to break the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community during his time as Chief Minister.

After Rahul Gandhi called all OBCs ‘chor’, it is Siddaramaiah’s turn to make insensitive and hurtful comment tarnishing a community. He called all members of the Lingayat community corrupt, who are ruining the state.

Earlier Congress tried to break the Veerashaiva Lingayat… pic.twitter.com/ta7NnvVhkQ

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 22, 2023

In response, Siddaramaiah said that his comment was only directed toward Chief Minister BS Bommai and not the entire Lingayat community. He said, "My comments referred only to Bommai. I did not say Lingayats are corrupt. Therefore, making such sweeping claims is inappropriate." He also acknowledged the honesty of past Lingayat Chief Ministers such as S Nijalingappa and Virendra Patil. “There have been very honest Lingayat chief ministers. There was S Nijalingappa, Virendra Patil and others for whom I have a lot of respect as they were very honest chief ministers,” he said.

According to reports, the Lingayat community makes up around 17% of Karnataka's population and holds significant influence in approximately 100 out of the total 224 constituencies. The majority of these seats are located in the northern region of the state. The BJP has suffered a blow with the departure of two prominent Lingayat leaders, Laxman Savadi and Jagadish Shettar, to Congress.

In Karnataka's political history since 1952, out of the 23 Chief Ministers, 10 have been from the Lingayat community. This makes them a significant political force in the state. There have been six Chief Ministers from the Vokkaliga community, five from Backward Classes, and two from the Brahmin community. Given the crucial role of the Lingayat community in the upcoming May 10 polls, political parties are actively seeking to garner their support.