The launch of the Karnataka Adi Jambava Development Corporation here on Thursday witnessed a din over differences between communities falling under Scheduled Castes and an indirect show of strength by their leaders.
The inaugural function witnessed sloganeering from the audience, which was made up of followers of senior leaders from SC communities. While former Union Minister K.H. Muniyappa spoke, one group raised slogans. Another did so when Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge took the mike.
“Some say that only I can get whatever the community needs. Am I God? You (State leaders) should not be standing at the back and pushing me to the front. We all have to remain united,” Mr. Kharge said. “I have never held meetings based on caste. I will resign if anyone can prove me wrong.”
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Amid the din, he continued, “Unless all the backward classes unite, you will not get power. First we have to protect the constitutional and democratic principles. Some powers are out to destroy them.”
Insisting that he was not opposed to the implementation of the Sadashiva Commission report on providing internal reservation to SC/ST communities, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said it needed to be comprehensively discussed first. “The Sadashiva report needs to be discussed at the government level at the earliest. There is no opposition to implementing it. All of us want it to be implemented.”
He also said that the establishment of the corporation would help in the utilisation of funds earmarked for Adi Jambava communities instead of their being used for others. Mr. Parameshwara said both the present JD(S)-Congress coalition government and the previous Congress regime had reserved 24.1 % of the funds for the development of depressed communities based on population ration.
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Meanwhile, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who inaugurated the corporation, told the audience that Mr. Kharge and Mr. Muniyappa were like brothers. “Don’t try to separate them. Amongst you, people are raising slogans. First there should be unity,” he said.
Seeking time to address the issues of the community, the Chief Minister said, “I am not against any caste. We need time. This government is stable.”