Members of Scheduled Castes community, under the banner of Karnataka State Madiga Meesalati Horata Samiti, have planned a padayatra from Kudalasangama in Bagalakot district to Bengaluru from November 20. The aim is to mount pressure on the State government to recommend to the Centre providing internal reservation to Scheduled Castes as recommended by the Justice A.J. Sadashiva Commission.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday H. Hanumanthappa, President of the samiti, criticised the Congress government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for making “hollow promises” and not initiating any step to concede the long pending demand of providing internal reservation.
“We have resorted to all kinds of agitation to press for our demands. In turn, the Chief Minister, who has had discussions as many as 11 times, has been giving only assurances and not keeping his word. Apart from that police force was also being used to snub the on-going struggle. We are not going to be cowed down by it. Our padayatra will be an intensified one and we will storm the Vidhana Soudha on December 11 urging the Congress government, for the last time, to concede our demand to place the proposal of providing internal reservation in the ongoing winter session of the Assembly. If it fails to do so, we will chalk out a plan of action to teach a befitting lesson to not only the Congress but also to the Chief Minister in the coming Assembly elections.”
Mr. Hanumanthappa wanted Mr. Siddaramaiah to convene a special session and adopt a unanimous resolution on the issue and forward the recommendation to the Union government in order to mete out justice to the Scheduled Castes, in case the proposal could not be tabled in the ongoing session,.
He also hoped that the BJP and Janata Dal (S) would pressure the government to table the proposal.
