Original quota groups in Karnataka oppose new three-member panel

BENGALURU : Those who figured in the original reservation list under the most backward 2A category have opposed setting up of a three-member committee headed by Justice Subhash B Adi to look into the demands of various communities on quota.

They have threatened to launch an aggressive statewide agitation if the 2A reservation is disturbed by the inclusion of the Panchamsalis into the list. The leaders from the communities under the 2A category originally have called for a meeting on Wednesday, said MLC MD Lakshminarayana from the weavers community. 

Speaking at the Backward Communities meeting at Gandhi Bhavan, the leaders said the original status of 2A should be protected. They expressed concern that Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in his budget set aside only Rs 500 crore for more than 300 castes who come under the backward castes and sub-castes but had earmarked Rs 500 and another Rs 100 crore for the dominant Lingayat and Rs 500 crore for the Vokkaliga communities.

They said don’t have confidence in the committee headed by Justice Adi. "We doubt that they will study the issue transparently," said KM Ramchandrappa, president of the Backward Communities Okkuta.