DEVANGERE/CHITRADURGA: Niranjananda Puri Swamy of Kanaka Gurupeet Kaginele on Sunday said that the walkathon demanding the scheduled tribe status for the Kuruba community begins at Kaginele on January 15 and will end in Bengaluru on February 7.
Addressing the media, Swamy said that the 340 kilometer walkathon will be covered in 24 days and will pass through major portion of the state. Thousands of people belonging to the Kuruba community take part in the walkathon.
He also said that lakhs of people will take part in the mega convention that will be held at Bengaluru on February 7 and the aim of this is to get ST status for the Kuruba community. Further he said that all the leaders of the community take part in the programme. Met Santoshji over the reservation issue
Niranjananda Puri Swamy further said that he had met RSS leader and national organising secretary of BJP B L Santosh on the issue of getting scheduled tribe status for the Kuruba community. Further he stressed the need of takiing the issue with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and get the issue resolved.
Along with this, union minister Prahlad Joshi was also contacted and requested him to take up the issue in the union cabinet and got positive reply from him. He brushed aside that RSS is not behind the reservation issue.
Siddaramaiah not neglected
"Before we took up the struggle we first contacted former CM Siddaramaiah at his home and requested him to join the moment and got consent from him. Later met rural development minister K S Eshwarappa to take up the moment forward." he said.
Niranjanandapuri swamy also said that Siddaramaiah gave green signal for the struggle, but now he is alleging that he was not called for the struggle, which is far from truth. Siddaramaiah is welcomed whenever he comes to struggle, because he is the tallest leader of the community, he added.
Eshwaranandapuri swamy of Kellodu gurupeet of Kuruba community and other leaders of the comunity took part in the preliminary meeting held at Beereshwara Bhavan in the Devaraj Urs extension of the city.