With the Karnataka state assembly polls nearing, the fight for the Kuruba vote-bank has begun.
Both the BJP and the Congress parties held celebrations in memory of Sangolli Rayanna on Thursday.
The Congress party, backed by numerous Kuruba leaders had organised celebrations at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.
“When the Kuruba Sangha was on the verge of closing down, I was the one who brought it back to life,” CM Siddaramaiah said.
Backing up the CM, MP HM Revanna said that Siddaramaiah was the one who had united all Kuruba Leaders when the Kanaka Gopura issue broke out.
In March 2005, the BJP government has ordered the demolition of the Kanaka Gopura in Udupi’s Krishna temple. The temple holds significance to the Kuruba community as Kanakadasa, after whom the gopura was named, belonged to the Kuruba community. Protests broke out against the demolition, which united the Kuruba leaders.
“Since the last two months, Eshwarappa has been saying that he is a Kuruba but there is no comparison between Eashwarappa and Siddaramaiah. Over five lakh people show up for Siddaramaiah’s speeches but not even 10,000 show up for Eashwarappa’s. The Rayanna Brigade issue has been blown out of proportion and Eshwarappa’s attempt has gone down the drain,” Revanna said.
The Kuruba Leaders pledged their allegiance to Siddaramaiah at the event and also spoke against Eshwarappa and the Rayanna Brigade.
Meanwhile, in Bagalkot district’s Kudalasangama, the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade conducted celebrations in memory of the martyr.
Kudalasangama is the Lingayat community’s stronghold and Kagenele Kanaka Peeta’s Niranjan Swamy, who is considered as a religious figure by members of the Lingayat community, did not attend the Rayanna Brigade’s celebrations, despite Eshwarappa’s invitation, media reports suggested.
Also, Eshwarappa’s staunch supporter and closest aide, MLA Bhanuprakash, did not attend the Brigade’s celebration.
“Eshwarappa has been trying to gather the allegiance of the Kuruba leaders since the last few months. Now, none of them are at the Rayanna Brigade’s celebrations. They have come to support Siddaramaiah,” Revanna said.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah said, "Where was Eshwarappa when Kurubas protested to name the railway station in Bengaluru after Sangolli Rayanna? He never bothered to be a part of any of the meetings conduced in the Kanaka Gopura row. This is just a political game for him. He does not care about the Kurubas."