The Panchamasali subsect of Lingayats, who have been demanding inclusion in 2-A category for reservation for over a year now, have threatened to relaunch their stir from April 14, if their demands are not met by then.
Seer of the Lingayat Panchamasali Peetha at Kudalasangama Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swami addressed mediapersons in the city on Saturday and said the deadline they had set for the State Government to meet their quota demand ends on March 30.
No word in session
“There are three days left for the legislature session to conclude. But there has been no news of the Government taking up our issue. The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, which was tasked with submitting a report on the demand, has not even begun a survey on the ground. We are running out of patience. If our demands are not met immediately, we will relaunch our stir on April 14,” he said.
Members of the community, led by the seer, had taken out a padyatra from Basavakalyan to Bengaluru in 2021, following which then Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa had tasked the commission to study the feasibility of the demand and submit a report.
K. Jayaprakash Hegde, Chairman of the commission, said the survey and study were under way and were disrupted by the pandemic. “We have already visited several districts where Panchamasalis are there. We are collecting suitable empirical data, without which any recommendation will unlikely stand judicial scrutiny. The community may expect us to deliver at the earliest. But there are several other communities who too have given similar requests,” he said, declining to put a time frame for the submission of the report.
The seer said the community had reposed faith in Mr. Yediyurappa for nearly a decade, but were disappointed as their demands were not met during his tenure. “Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had assured us that he will announce reservation under category 2-A in the Budget session, but his silence on the issue has led to fears and anxiety in the community. At a recent meeting with the commission, he did not even raise the issue of Panchamasalis, raising fears that he may succumb to some pressure. Even Panchamasalis of his constituency, Shiggaon, are expressing concerns over his silence,” he said.
Meeting on March 30
B.S. Patil Nagaralahuli, State president of Pancha Sene, said deliberations on the modalities of the stir to be launched on April 14 were on. “We may start the agitation from Shiggaon, the Chief Minister’s constituency, or Kalaburagi or Kudalasangama. The final decision on this is yet to be taken,” he said, adding that the community had called a meeting of all elected representatives from the community on March 30.
