Bengaluru, Apr 17 (PTI) Accusing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of dividing society by seeking to give religious minority tag to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje today said he should not be allowed to garland the statue of 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara tomorrow.

The annual "Basava Jayanti" is being observed across Karnataka tomorrow.

"Siddaramaiah should not be given a chance to garland the statue of Basaveshwara because him quoting Basaveshwara on equality and workmanship is like the devil reciting Bhagwad Geeta. Society should not give room to all these," she said.

The BJP leader said Siddaramaiah has no moral right to? celebrate the birth anniversary of Basaveshwara tomorrow as he?has 'violated' the Lingayat and Veerashaiva sect.

She alleged that he was the first Chief Minister who meticulously planned to destroy the Lingayat Veerashaiva sect through Lingayat ministers M B Patil, Basavaraj Rayareddi, Vinay Kulkarni and a few sanyasis.

Karandlaje also alleged that Siddaramaiah conspired to destroy society and communities in the name of?Basaveshwara, "who envisioned of a society founded on equality and rejected caste based discrimination."

She recalled that there were Congress governments in the past?with absolute majority, but none of them had thought of dividing society.

"That crooked thought (of dividing society) occurred?only to Siddaramaiah. For the sake of vote bank politics... to? safeguard his position,to keep Lingayats and Veerashaivas away from BJP president B S Yeddyurappa, Siddaramaiah tried to destroy society."

"the Veerashaiva Lingayat community must take?note of it," she said.

The BJP has been up in arms against Siddaramaiah ever? since his government decided to recommend to the centre, grant of religious minority tag to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats earlier this year ahead of the May 12 elections.

The government's move is seen as an apparent bid to weaken the electoral prospects of BJP, which is banking to a great extent on the Lingayat community, who hold the sway in Karnataka for being numerically and politically strong.

In order to woo Lingayat votes,BJP has projected Lingayat heavyweight and BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa?as their chief ministerial candidate.

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