A.H. Vishwanath, who recently joined the Janata Dal (S) from the Congress, while defending the demand of the Kuruba community seeking Scheduled Tribes tag, urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to forward a recommendation to the Union government.
“Presiding over a community convention in Ballari in 1994, Mr. Siddaramaiah, then in the Opposition, had put forth the demand seeking Scheduled Tribes tag for the community. He had reiterated it at two more conventions in Mysuru and Bengaluru besides promising to get Scheduled Tribes tag for the community if he was made the Chief Minister. Now, he is the Chief Minister and why is he not taking the initiative,” he asked, while talking to presspersons here on Monday.
According to him, sections of the community were still residing in forests and those in other areas were socially and economically backward on the one hand and on the other, most of them, particularly the youth, were facing atrocity cases and lodged in jails. With this background, the demand has been made and the struggle continues, he said.
Mr. Vishwanath did not wish to comment on the ongoing movement by the Veerashaiva Lingayat community demanding religion status for Lingayats. However, he merely said that dividing a community for getting votes was condemnable.
‘Govt. is directionless’
Referring to the four-and-a-half year rule of the Congress government headed by Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Vishwanath described it as “directionless”.
“During the erstwhile BJP rule, Ballari proved that without money there was no power, going by the use of money and muscle power in the election in 2008 and also the subsequent election. At that time Mr. Siddaramaiah, as the Leader of the Opposition, took out a padayatra stating that he would put an end to corruption and recover the loss to the Exchequer caused by the mining barons if the party was voted to power. His government is at the fag end of the five-year term and nothing has happened,” he said.