The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday said that decision on the issue of granting separate religion status to the Lingayats community will only be taken once the proposal is presented before them.
The MHA sources said that only six primary religions are recognised in the country, rest falls under the category of others.
Meanwhile, Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the issue of Lingayat has been raised to fulfill "political goals and divide Hindus".
Talking to the media, Meghwal accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of reversing the decision of former prime minister Manmohan Singh's government on the same.
"Karnataka Chief Minister wants to reverse the decision of Manmohan Singh Government on Lingayat community. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Karnataka president BS Yeddyurappa comes from Lingayat community, Congress is doing so to prevent him from becoming the chief minister by dividing society for votes. Weaker sections will be at a loss by this move," Meghwal said.
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"Lingayat is a part of Hinduism. The matter of Lingayat as a separate religion is being brought up to fulfill political goals and divide Hindus," he added.
Ahead of the state assembly elections, the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka Government on Monday accepted the suggestions of Nagamohan Das committee to form a separate religion status for the Lingayats community.
The suggestion, which has been accepted under section 2D of the state Minorities Commission Act, will now be sent to the Centre for the final approval.
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