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Quota crisis in Karnataka: Panchamasalis to hold rally in Bengaluru on Sunday
Chief minister BS Yediyurappa had earlier this month ordered for a detailed assessment and report on the socio-economic conditions of the Panchamasali Lingayats.
The Panchamasalis, the largest sub-sect within the Lingayat community, will hold a rally in Bengaluru on Sunday with a demand to be included in the 2A category of the backwards classes list. The inclusion will entitle them 15 per cent reservations in government jobs and education.
Panchamashali Lingayat sect seers and leaders are demanding that their existing reservation category be changed from 3B to 2A in the State's Other Backward Community (OBC) list. They are currently on a 450-km padayatra which will culminate in the Bengaluru rally on February 21.
People aware of the developments say that the BJP is trying to convince the seers leading the agitation to submit just a memorandum on 21 February but the other stakeholders, including from the opposition parties, want to keep the pressure on the government.
Basavajaya Mrityunjaya Swami, an influential seer from the Koodalasangama Panchamasali Mahapeetha, had recently said that they would surround Vidhana Soudha, the seat of power in Karnataka, until their demands are met.
Chief minister BS Yediyurappa had earlier this month ordered for a detailed assessment and report on the socio-economic conditions of the Panchamasali Lingayats.
The state government is facing demands for revision of the existing quota from various communities too, including the dominant Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayat.
Also making the demands are the backward Kuruba community which is seeking the Scheduled Tribe (ST) tag, and the Valmikis who want ST quota to be hiked from three per cent to 7.5 per cent.
Yediyurappa belongs to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community. Amid these demands, he had said that his government would do whatever was possible within the ambit of the law and the Constitution.
Karnataka at present provides 15 per cent reservation for SCs, 3 per cent for STs and 32 per cent for the other backward classes (OBC), which adds up to 50 per cent.
