Members of the Zilla Panchamasali Horata Samiti took out a rally in Belagavi on Friday to demand inclusion of the community under 2A category among the Other Backward Classes.
They are demanding the re-categorisation of the community which is already part of the OBC group.
Sri Basava Jaya Mrutyunjay Swami, head of the Koodalasangama Panchamasali Mutt, and leaders, including BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, the former MLAs Vijayanand Kashappanavar and A.B. Patil, and others participated.
They took out a padayatra from the Rani Channamma Circle to the Gandhi Bhavan where they held a meeting. The protest march resulted in a huge traffic jam in the central business district and the police had to divert traffic onto roads in the Military Camp area.
The meeting passed two resolutions, one, condemning the government for delay in re-categorisation and the other, demanding immediate government orders to include the community under 2A category.
Mr. Yatnal said that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had assured him of including the community under 2A category.
“It is only that he has asked me for some time. He has assured that he will take steps to include various backward communities among the Veerashaiva Lingayat community, including Gouda Lingayat, Deeksha Lingayat, Gouli Lingayat and Panchamasali, into 2A category. I think that we are coming the end of a long battle,’’ he said.
He said that the seer was heading the agitation in a completely selfless manner. He appealed to the crowd to realise that the protest was not political and that leaders like him who were supporting the seer were acting in a selfless manner. “I am quite well off. So are the leaders who are here on the stage with me. We don’t need any benefits. We are fighting for the welfare of the community,” he said.
He spoke against who he called traitors of the community. “Some of our leaders are acting like Mallappa Shetty, a leader who betrayed Rani Channama of Kittur in the 19th Century. I only appeal to them to keep quiet, if they don’t want to support the protest. But you should not try to destabilise the movement,’’ he said.
Mr. Yatnal said that some invisible forces were tying to reduce the importance of Sri Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swami by creating a parallel mutt. But that will not succeed. “We are members of a huge community and if we all contribute ₹100 per head, we will have collected ₹100 crore. We will build a mutt for our swami with that money,” he said.
The seer said that he was fighting several odds to lead the agitation. “I have not succumbed to any provocations or offers for considerations,” he said. He, however, did not elaborate.
“This is not a personal agitation of Mr. Yatnal or Mr. Kashappanavar. If you don’t like them, you try and defeat them in the elections. But don’t try to malign a pro-social movement that they are heading. Individual personalities are less important in this agitation, compared to the power of the community,’’ he said.
Mr. Kashappanavar said that he will not rest till the community was given the 2A tag. “I will also protest against the delay by the government in providing us this benefit,’’ he said.
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