Bengaluru : : In an effort to strengthen its hold on the Lingayat vote-bank, the BJP government on Monday approved a proposal to recreate an Anubhava Mantapa, a 12th century spiritual Parliament started by 12th century social reformer Basavanna.

The mega structure will be constructed at a cost of Rs 50 crore at Basavakalyan in Bidar district to honour the guru of the Lingayat community who form 17% of the total population.

According to chief election officer Sanjiv Kumar, with no elections in Bidar, it may not amount to poll code violation. “However, once it comes to our notice, we’ll examine the proposal. As of now, we’re not aware of it,” he said.

The state cabinet gave its nod to the proposal, originally mooted in 2017 by then Siddaramaiah government despite the model code of conduct coming into force following the announcement of bypolls to 15 assembly segment, which hves a significant number of Lingayat voters.

Law and parliamentary affairs minister JC Madhuswamy said the cabinet approved the release of Rs 20 crore immediately for construction of the Mantapa and claimed the proposal does not amount to poll code violation since bypolls aren’t being held in Bidar district. However, he said the issue of creating new Vijayanagara district by bifurcating Ballari district was not discussed because of the poll code.

Election Commission officials said the poll code will be appicable for the entire state, except for flood relief and rehabilitation.

“Earlier last week, when the CM went to celebrate independenence day of the Kalyana Karnataka region, there was a demand from locals to announce a grand gesture to remember the day. Due to it, the cabinet decided to construct an Anubhava Mantapa in Basavakalyan,” Madhuswamy said.

The cabinet also decided to truncate the budget session to three days on account of byelections to 15 segments. It’ll be held from October 10 to October 12. “The session will be held to present the supplementary budget and pass money bills which is a must to pay salaries of government employees from November 1,” said

Madhuswamy. Sources said the session was truncated as the government feared flak from opposition parties on delay in release of central assisance to flood victims.

The cabinet approved Rs 5 crore to set up a research lab to find a cure for Kyasanur Forest Disease, also known as monkey fever, at Shivamogga.