Seeking the inclusion of the Lingayat Panchamasali community under 2A category in the State and Central list of OBCs, members of the community led by Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swami of Lingayat Panchamasali Peetha at Koodalasangama will stage a one-day fast in front of the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi on October 28.
At a press conference in Hubballi on Tuesday, he said that as the members of the community were ‘soft-natured and hard working’, their rightful demand had been neglected by successive governments.
“Only 5% of the community is rich, while the remaining are economically and socially backward. For most of them, agriculture is the main occupation and several earn their livelihood as farm workers,” he said.
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Lingayat religion
The swami, among prominent leaders seeking the status of independent religion for Lingayat, clarified that the fight for independent religion was still on and it should not be presumed that it has ended.