Mysuru: Expressing concern that internal wrangles have become the cause for political downside of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, former High Court Judge Arali Nagaraj has opined that Governments over the years have continued to ignore the community.

He was speaking on ‘Political Unity in the community and saving the youth community,’ organised jointly by Veerashaiva-Lingayat Hitarakshana Vedike, Veerashaiva Mahasabha and Basava Balagagala Okkuta at Nataraja Kalyana Mantap, Agrahara in city yesterday.

Reiterating that the ruling dispensations have continued to ignore us, he said that such an attitude of Governments would only lead to social, academic, economic and political insecurity.

Justice (Retd.) Nagaraj also warned that such callousness of the Governments would bear an adverse impact on the social and political status of the community.

Veerashiva-Lingayat Hitarakshana Vedike General Secretary K.P. Mahadevaswamy, in his address, said that it was a matter of concern that only one from the community was able to win an Assembly seat in eight districts of Mysuru region comprising Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Chikkamagalur, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.

Attributing the cause of poor representation of Veerashaiva-Lingayat in Mysuru region to disunity among the community, he said that the time has come to do some serious thinking on the matter.

Former MLA and Vedike Hon. President H.C. Basavaraj, President C.P. Thammanna, office-bearers U.M. Prabhuswamy, C.M. Prakash, Yelavarahundi Siddappa, H. Basavaraj, Veerashaiva Mahasabha leader Kanya Shivamurthy, K.N. Puttabuddhi A.S. Channabasappa and others were present on the occasion.