Kudalasangama Trust expels Basava Jaya Mrutyunjay Swamiji over ‘bylaw violations’

Bagalkote (Karnataka), Sep 21 (PTI) The Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peetha Trust on Sunday decided to expel Basava Jaya Mrutyunjay Swamiji from the post of seer of the peetha, trust secretary Neelkanth Asuti said.

The unanimous decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Congress MLA and trust president Vijayanand Kashappanavar, who accused the seer of abandoning Lingayat ideology, aligning with Hindutva, and "violating the trust’s bylaws that prohibit personal property." Panchamasali Lingayats are a sub-sect of the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.

“There were several complaints against the swamiji. He did not heed the trust; there is a big file against him. So a decision was taken to expel him from the peetha,” Asuti told reporters here.

He added, “As per our trust bylaw, the swamiji should not acquire property, but he has done so. It is also stated that the seer should not indulge in any activity that causes disintegration, yet he is trying to divide the community. There are also complaints against him regarding financial matters.” “He was served a notice earlier, in 2014. The decision against the seer was unanimous. He never tried to rectify himself and has worked against the Basava Tatva,” Asuti further claimed.

According to some office-bearers, the immediate trigger for the action was the seer’s recent call asking the community to identify themselves as Hindus in the Social and Educational Survey, popularly known as the caste census, which begins Monday.

Kashappanavar and others maintained that the community should identify their religion as Veerashaiva-Lingayat.

Questioned about this, Asuti said, “The seer might have taken such a stand under pressure from some political leaders.” The seer had earlier come to prominence by leading a large-scale protest demanding higher reservations for Panchamasali Lingayats in government jobs and educational institutions by including them in Category 2A (15 per cent) of the OBC quota. They are currently placed under 3B (5 per cent). PTI KSU SSK