Bengaluru, Feb 10 : With several communities, including Panchamasali, a subsect within the Lingayat community, demanding ‘better’ reservation, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said on Wednesday that he would ‘do everything to provide better reservation’ to the different communities in the state.
Yediyurappa is under pressure from various communities, including Lingayat, his own community from which the state has had 13 out the 29 chief ministers sworn-in so far in Karnataka.
Addressing the media after garlanding the statue of Kengal Hanumanthaiah, the second CM of the southern state, on his 113th birth anniversary at the Vidhana Soudha here, Yediyiurappa appealed to the pontiffs leading the agitations for their respective communities that he needed time to meet their demands.
“I will never ask the pontiffs who are leading agitations to stop their fight, but they should give me time. I will work hard and sincerely to meet their demands,” he said.
The CM stressed that he had never told any community that their demand for ‘better reservation’ won’t be met. “In every forum, I have worked hard to meet their expectations,” he said.
The Chief Minister added that any government will have to work within the framework of the Constitution and the law of the land. “We will discuss the matter with the experts to know how to provide better reservation to the communities which have been demanding reservation,” the CM said.
According to Yediyurappa, reservation cannot be given based on mere demands as it involves a lengthy process. “For instance, the Valmiki community had been pressing for an increase in the reservation within the Schedule Tribe (ST) quota. The Justice Nagmohandas Committee has already submitted its report in this regard. We need to discuss it before taking any decision,” he said.
The CM added that issues related to reservation are very touchy, which is why the government cannot adopt a hurried approach in such matters.
At present, several communities, including Panchamasali Lingayat, Kuruba and Valmiki, are demanding a revision in the reservation system in Karnataka.
While the Panchamasali subsect is asking for Category 2A status, the Kurubas are agitating to include them in the Scheduled Tribe category while the Valmiki community is demanding that the reservation for ST be increased from 3 per cent to 7.5 per cent.
All the three communities have strong presence across the state and wield considerable socio-economic clout.
Yediyurappa recently ordered the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes to prepare a report on including the Panchamasali subsect under Category 2A.
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.