Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday cautioned the Kurubas against efforts to divide the community.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he alleged that the RSS had hatched a conspiracy to divide the Kurubas who had placed their trust in him. “They want to weaken Siddaramaiah politically in the process”, he said and added that BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa, who was batting for the inclusion of Kurubas in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST), was a “puppet” in the hands of the RSS.
If Mr. Eshwarappa were to be serious about securing the ST tag for Kurubas, the BJP government in the State, in which he is a Minister, should secure an approval for the same in the Cabinet and send the recommendation to the Union Government, which is also represented by the BJP.
“Where is the need to launch a struggle by holding conventions and padayatras for the same?”, he asked.
Mr. Siddaramaiah was speaking after rejecting an appeal made by BJP MLC A.H. Vishwanath asking him to lead the struggle for securing Kurubas the ST tag.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Vishwanath sought to remind Mr. Siddaramaiah of the admiration the Kuruba community for him and even cited how some of them had even sold their livestock and donated the money for his election campaign.
“What have you given back to the community?”, Mr Vishwanath sought to know. Reacting to Mr. Siddaramaiah’s stand that there was no need for a struggle to secure a ST tag for Kurubas, Mr. Vishwanath said nothing comes without a struggle.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who had served as Chief Minister and was presently holding the post of the Leader of Opposition, should guide the community members in the struggle and take them forward, he said.
If need be, the government should also increase the percentage of reservation to accommodate Kurubas in the ST category, Mr. Vishwanath said citing the example of North-Eastern States.
