Karnataka govt to provide Rs 500 crore to Veerashaiva Lingayat Development Corporation

KVLDC will be incorporated under the Companies Act 2013 and the commissioner of backward classes will look after it till its Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association are drawn up and registered.

The BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka has decided to provide a hefty Rs 500 crore to the newly formed Karnataka Veerashaiva Lingayat Development Corporation (KVLDC). The move by Yediyurappa is seen as a bid to reach out to the dominant Lingayat community who constitute about 16-17% of the state population. The CM also belongs to the community and the move comes in the backdrop of persistent speculation that there might be a leadership change in the state, which the party has denied.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa also belongs to the Lingayat community and the move comes in the backdrop of persistent speculation that there might be a leadership change in the state, which the party has denied. (PTI PHOTO.)

KVLDC will be incorporated under the Companies Act 2013 and the commissioner of backward classes will look after it till its Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association are drawn up and registered.

Yediyurappa had decided to setup KVLDC after similar corporations were setup for Kodu Golla (Yadav) caste and the Maratha community. The decision to setup KVLDC came after a number of leaders led by Deputy CM Lakshman Savadi and other BJP leaders demanded it. Some of the opposition leaders while welcoming the move to set up the corporations have demanded similar ones for other communities too.

While former home minister and senior Congress leader M B Patil welcomed the setting up of KVLDC he criticized the ‘measly’ amount allocated for it and demanded that it should either be doubled or quadrupled. Former CM and JDS chief H D Kumaraswamy has demanded a similar corporation for Vokkaligas the second most dominant caste who account for 13% of the state population.

The Golla and Maratha corporation moves came ahead of by-polls in key constituencies in which members of those communities play a key role in determining their outcome. Some Pro-Kannada organizations have called for a statewide bandh on December 5 to protest against the setting up of the Maratha board.

Karnataka and Maharashtra have had a running feud on ownership of some of the border districts including Belgavi, Nippani and Karwar.