BENGALURU: The miniscule Betta Kuruba community, which numbers less than 1 lakh and is spread across the most backward and remote areas of Mysuru, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu districts, received the much awaited ST tag by the Union government.
Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, former CM BS Yediyurappa, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and other political leaders welcomed it, saying it would help uplift the community. Kaginele Mutt pontiff Niranjananda Puri told TNIE, “The Betta Kurubas have made it to the ST list, it is a struggle waged by the community for 35 years.
While I welcome Prime Minister Modi’s move to accord ST status to the Betta Kuruba community, I would also like to remind him that the entire Kuruba community needs to be accorded ST status.’’ The community had agitated about it last year, and thousands had participated in a 350-km padayatra from Kaginele to Bengaluru. BJP MLC Adagur Vishwanath, who is also president of Shepherds International, said, “While this move is welcome, there are other communities which need to be accommodated into reservation categories.”