Lingayats in Maharashtra demand religious minority status

Lingayat community members today took out a morcha here to demand a separate religion status for the community in Maharashtra as done in neighbouring Karnataka.

Community members from five districts - Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar and Nandurbar - took part in the morcha which started from Star-Zone mall and ended at the Nashik Road's divisional revenue commissioner office.

The rally, which also saw participation from women, was organised by the Lingayat Sangharsh Samiti of North Maharashtra.

The participants demanded religious minority tag for the Lingayat community in Maharashtra as done by the Congress government in poll-bound Karnataka.

Last month, the Karnataka cabinet recommended to the Centre grant of religious minority status to the Lingayats, until now considered a part of Hinduism.

Samiti members said the Lingayats account for 9 per cent of the total population of Maharashtra.