Not happy with govt.’s promise, Panchamasali seer says stir will continue

We stick to our demand for inclusion in 2A category, says Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swami

The Panchamasali reservation agitation committee has rejected the State government’s offer of including the community in the new 2D category under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list, committee honourary president Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swami said in Belagavi on Thursday.

“We stick to our demand for inclusion in the 2A category. We will continue our agitation,’‘ he told journalists after the State-level executive committee meeting. To a query, he said he would accept the new rearrangement of categories only if the benefits were the same as in the 2A category.

Earlier, he told the members that the offer should be rejected as it was “full of confusion”. “The Chief Minister and the Ministers are making differing statements and they are not giving us clarity on what the Panchamasali community will get if we are included in the 2D category. On the last day of the legislature session, we asked them to issue an order about the reservation and give us assurances in writing. That was not done,” he said.

“We demand that the Chief Minister announce our inclusion in the 2A category in 24 hours. It should be published in the gazette before January 12. Otherwise, we will protest before the CM’s residence,’‘ the seer said. The seer said details of the protest would be announced in Haveri on January 13.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal said some leaders of his own party and Ministers were the reasons behind the State government not announcing the 2A reservation for Panchamasalis.

“I have credible information that a Minister took BJP national president J.P. Nadda to the Harihar Panchamasali peetha and convinced him that there was no need to hurry on the issue. And that is why the State government has put off the decision... We do not accept the offer of including our community in 2D. We need 2A category reservation and we will not accept any other reclassification,’‘ Mr. Yatnal said.

“I used to tell Mr. Bommai in private that if he does not grant us this reservation facility, the BJP will suffer electorally. From today, I will say that in the open,” said Mr. Yatnal.