BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa seems to be in an unenviable position – he has been under tremendous pressure from various communities demanding better reservation. But what has become more politically significant is the Panchamsalis, one sect of Lingayats too, launching a quota stir. Yediyurappa himself a Lingayat is in a fix as he knows that if he concedes their demand, he will be antagonising the other Lingayat sects. So he wants to accord OBC status to the entire Lingayat community. But the BJP bosses, according to party sources, are not keen on it.
In Karnataka, of the 6.25 crore population, around 1.4 crore are Lingayats. They are a dominant community in more than 100 assembly constituencies, most of them in North Karnataka. Even while there was demand for reservation from other castes, Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji from Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peeta started demanding that the community get 2A tag. They now get reservation under 3B category. The seer even took out a padayatra recently from Kudalasangama to Bengaluru.
BJP sources said this is anothing but an attempt to break Yediyurappa’s popularity. “By bringing pressure on Yediyurappa to include only Panchamasali also means attracting the wrath of other sub-sects within the Lingayat community. It’s an attempt to weaken Yediyurappa,’’ sources said.
All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha General Secretary and KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre said there are many sub-sects and that OBC status should be given to all. “At present, 5 per cent of the total quota is under 3B category. Lingayats, along with Christians and Marathas, share this quota. We are demanding to be included under 2A, which is 15 per cent of the total reservation. The State government has to recommend and send it to the Union government,” Khandre said.
However, the CM wants to recommend reservation for the entire Lingayat community. “If reservation is given to the entire community, Yediyurappa will be more popular,”’ sources said.This is not going well with the Union government and BJP leaders. A senior BJP leader said the community is socially and economically strong and wondered how they can demand backward class status. The Union government and party leaders in Delhi are not happy with this, the BJP leader said, and added that they have already instructed Yediyurappa not to commit himself.
2A for panchamsalis: Forum gives ultimatum to CM till Feb 21
Vijayapura: Dr B S Patil, state president of Pancha Sainya, a wing of Akhila Bharat Lingayat Panchamasali Samaja Trust, has warned Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to be ready to face consequences if the government fails to consider the demand of according 2A status to panchamasali and other sub-castes of Veerashaiva-Lingayat community on or before February 21. Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, he said, “The chief minister is vested with the power to accord 2A status to any community.
Hence, we urge Yediyurappa to fulfil the demand within a week, failing which, we will stage a mega rally at Freedom Park on Sunday (February 21). This will be followed by an indefinite hunger strike on the premises of Vidhana Soudha against the state government. The padayatra, led by Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peeta Seer Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji, has reached Bengaluru Rural. On February 21, over 10 lakh people from the community are expected to take part in the rally. We are demanding the reservation within our rights. It is a two-decade long pending demand from the community.”
Swamiji stresses on higher quota for Vokkaligas
Bengaluru: After different religious heads demanding reservation for their communities, Nirmalananda Swamiji of Adichunchangiri Mutt on Wednesday stressed that reservation for Vokkaligas should be increased. At a meeting organised by his mutt to discuss the issue, he said the increase in quota is needed for the welfare of Vokkaligas. A Vokkaliga Authority Board needs to be created and a detailed study should be conducted to improve the community, he added. He said that there are 115 subsects among Vokkaligas and not all of them have been included in the Other Backward Class category. Since many of them have failed to get benefits, all sub-sects and those from urban and rural areas too should be classified as OBC, he said.