K Rehman Khan of Congress has spoken on the issue. He has stated that Congress never opposed it and that he's not aware of 2013 report. A day after the Siddaramaiah government decided to grant religious minority status to Lingayats, it emerged that the Congress-led UPA government had rejected a proposal for Lingayats to be declared a separate religion in 2013. The government had said such a tag would disadvantage people belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) who follow the Veerashaiva-Lingayat Dharma. The BJP seized on the contradiction, saying the Congress move was a desperate bid to retain power by dividing hindus.