Minister for Higher Education Basavaraj Rayaraddi, who took charge as chairman of the Hyderabad Karnataka Regional Development Board (HKRDB) on Tuesday, demanded special grants from the Centre to develop the region under under Article 371(J) of the Constitution. He said the special status offered to the region would have no meaning if the Union government did not grant additional funds.
“After the special status given to HK region, the Union government has not given a single paisa as special grant for the region. At present, only the State government is giving special funds. Fighting backwardness in the region is the responsibility of the Union government as well. I demand that the Centre provide special grants equal to those given by the State,” he said.
Mr. Rayaraddi also said the HKRDB would come up with a comprehensive plan for the overall development of the region for the next 8-10 years by identifying the priority sectors and estimating fund requirement. “Once the priority sectors and the estimation of funds is done, fund mobilisation can be thought of,” he said.
To a question on the controversy over the proposed inclusion of some villages in Gadag district in the HK region for extending the benefits of Article 371(J), Mr. Rayaraddi categorically said the Cabinet had rejected the proposal. He added that the demand for inclusion of Harapanahalli taluk to Ballari district was rational and hence accepted by the government.
“There was a proposal to include six villages, not 60 as reported in the media, from Gadag district to HK region on the grounds that they were once part of the Hyderabad Nizam province. However, the demand was rejected. The demand for including Harapanahalli taluk was rational as the taluk was part of Ballari district before the reorganisation of districts in 1997,” he said.
On Lingayat tag row
Admitting a division in the State Cabinet over the Lingayat religion tag issue, Mr. Rayaraddi said that Veerashaiva-Lingayat could never get independent religion status as long as the term Shaiva was part of the name. He added that a decision on the expert committee’s recommendation for independent minority religion status to Lingayats would be taken at the next Cabinet meeting.
Dismissing the arguments that Lingayat was part of Hinduism, he said “Lingayatism” is a separate religion that has emerged in the process of fighting the irrational and exploitative practices in Hinduism. “Hinduism and Lingayatism are different faiths with diagonally opposite ideologies and outlooks. Hinduism advocates social hierarchy through Varnashrama, casteism, and gender discrimination, while Lingayatism advocates equality among social groups,” he said.
