BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is set to launch Vinaya Samarasya, an awareness programme to eradicate untouchability across Gram Panchayats in Karnataka. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will launch the initiative, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lend his voice for the campaign, Social Welfare Minister Kota Shrinivasa Poojari said on Monday. The government will also provide more grants to panchayats that are free from untouchable practices in Karnataka.
Replying during assembly proceedings on the budget, Poojari referred to an incident of September 2021, where a Dalit family was slapped with a penalty of Rs 25,000 after their two-year-old toddler Vinay entered the temple premises at Miyapur village in Kushtagi taluk. This incident was condemned by various sections of society. The minister said Vinay’s entire educational expense will be taken care of by the department. “We are ready to bear the cost, whatever course he wants to study, medical or engineering,” he added.
Poojari rued that this inhuman practice still exists. “In the name of Vinay, the State government is initiating Vinaya Samarasya, an awareness programme which will be launched across the state at the panchayat level. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will launch the initiative, and will have a voice message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said. In order to eradicate this practice, the government will announce more grants to panchayats that are free of untouchability.
The minister told TNIE that they are discussing the dates to launch the scheme, and there is a proposal to launch it on Ambedkar Jayanti (April 14). “We are checking if PM Modi can inaugurate it virtually,’’ he said. However, we will take his voice to reach out to more people, he added.
Guidelines will be framed for panchayats. “We will see if villagers use the same tap/well to collect water, if they allow all castes inside temples, harmony in villages, and based on this we will decide if these villages are free from the practice of untouchability,’’ he said. The Social Justice Committee in each panchayat will take up this initiative along with local legislators.