Lingayat Community

A private defamation complaint against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on his comment about a Lingayat chief minister during the recent Assembly election has been dismissed by an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court. The Special Court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to elected former and sitting MPs/MLAs on Tuesday dismissed the complaint filed for the alleged offences under Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. The private complaint lodged by Shankar Shet and Mallaiah Hiremath alleged that Siddaramaiah had defamed the Lingayat community with his answer to a question by a journalist during the Assembly election. The Congress leader was asked if his party would make a Lingayat the Chief Minister if it came to power. Siddaramaiah allegedly replied that then incumbent CM Basavaraj Bommai was a Lingayat who had indulged in corruption and spoilt the state.

The party has accommodated Madhu Bangarappa from Shivamogga in the view of making the roots of the party strong in the home turf of former CM BS Yediyurappa

Muslim community members staged a protest in Gangavathi of Koppal district demanding the post for Congress leader Zameer Ahmad Khan

It also suggests that in the state of Karnataka, an election can be won or lost with just a nod or a shake of the head from the chief of a mutt

A defamation case was lodged on Tuesday against Karnataka's Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah over his alleged statement on corruption practised by Lingayat Chief Ministers in the state.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai denied having made any decision by the party on the Lingayat chief minister

The Congress announced its candidate against Chief Minister Bommai from Shiggaon. The party has fielded Mohammed Yousuf Savanur from the seat

The ruling BJP will not interfere in the investigation of rape case involving prominent Lingayat seer Dr Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said on Saturday

Political sources say it's hard to conclude yet which constituencies Bommai is addressing: The Lingayats, the middle class, industry, or the less well-off

There is a land deal controversy to settle and river water disputes to negotiate but his first challenge will be forming a council of ministers that pleases everyone.

Over 500 Veerashaiva-Lingayat seers from different parts of Karnataka on Sunday demanded that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, whose exit appears imminent, should be allowed to continue in office.

In Karnataka's multi-layered politics that often subsumes the BJP's Hindutva project in the quest for identities based on region and castes, any challenge becomes onerous for the chief minister.

The Siddaramaiah government on May 23 notified minority religion status to Lingayats amid protests by some sections of the community

The Union Home Ministry will examine in detail the Karnataka government's recommendation to grant religious minority tag to the Lingayat and Veerashaiva Lingayat community as and when it receives the proposal, an official said today. The central government's reaction came a day after the Congress government in poll-bound Karnataka decided to recommend that religious minority tag be granted to the numerically strong and politically-influential Lingayat and Veerashaiva Lingayat community. The issue of granting religious minority tag to the Lingayat and Veerashaiva Lingayat community will be examined as and when the Home Ministry receives the proposal from the Karnataka government, a senior home ministry official said here. The Home Ministry is expected to forward the proposal to the Registrar General & Census Commissioner for a detailed examination and suggestions, another official said. The Karnataka government took the decision following a recommendation of an expert panel set up

Living mostly in North Karnataka, Lingayats constitute 17% of state population. Since their vote is seen as decisive in 110 of the 224 Assembly seats, Lingayats are considered politically powerful

From Monday, 246 Indira canteens will be opened across Karnataka to serve heavily subsidised and cooked food