Karnataka: Congress divided over according separate religion status to Lingayats in by-poll season

Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar’s statement regretting the decision to accord a separate religion status for Lingayats has the Congress on the horns of a dilemma again. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao has distanced the party from Shivakumar’s statement, claiming it was his personal opinion and that the party still stood by its decision to accord the Lingayat community the status of a separate religion. This confusion might cost the Congress dearly in the by-poll season as the BJP has taken it up as the main plank in the contest.