Making it clear that he will not yield to any pressure against the decision taken to increase reservation from 50 per cent to 70 per cent for backward communities, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that he would soon send a recommendation to the Union government for further action in the matter.
He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Halumatha Samskriti Vaibhava Samavesha and 12 National Gond Convention organised by Kanaka Gurupeetha, Gulbarga Division, at Tinthini Bridge near Veeragota village in Deodurg taluk of Raichur district on Thursday.
The Chief Minister said that his government was aiming at providing facilities to the deprived communities by extending benefits accorded under the Constitution and therefore, it had taken the decision to increase reservation to strengthen them educationally and economically them.
“I will not compromise on any issue which is against social justice and shall continue with the principles which I believe in even if I were to lose power,” he said.
He lauded the efforts of the seer of Kanaka Gurupeetha, Siddaramanand Puri, who is the peethadhipathi, for his services in the education sector and opening education institutions for those who were deprived of education.
The Chief Minister also remembered the difficulties which he himself and others had faced while establishing the Kanaka Gurupeetha in Kaginele near Haveri and said that because of donations from people of te Halumatha community, the peetha could be established.
But, a few, including Opposition Leader in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa, shirked responsibility in setting up such a model religious centre to ensure self-respect to the Halumatha community.
However, the people of the community joined hands and established four the Kanaka Gurupeethas in the State, he added.
Appealing to the Halumatha community to give quality education to their children citing his own example, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that “I am the only son among the four in my family to have received quality education. That has helped me occupy the chair of the Chief Minister today.”
He then asked the gathering to ensure quality education to their children for a better life. “I am ready to sanction a medical college for the Halumatha community if people come forward to invest the required money,” he said when someone among the participants raised the issue.
The Chief Minister refuted the allegation that he had directed the Gonda and Rajagonda communities to get Scheduled Castes certificates and said that these communities have already been included in the Scheduled Tribes category in many parts of the country. He had now suggested to the two communities in Bidar, Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts, where the communities are in large numbers, to get such certificates for availing themselves of benefits.
He said that his government is providing transparent and corruption-free governance but some were misleading the people against it. K. Veerupakshappa, former MP, submitted a memorandum of demands of the community, including construction of Kanaka Bhavans in each taluk at a cost of Rs. 2 crore, electronic weighing machines to be introduced to weigh sheep and goats and compensation for shepherds on the death of sheep.
Earlier, H.M. Revanna, legislator, said that development work at the Kanaka Gurupeetha at Kaginele and the Samadhi of Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna would be taken up to make them as tourist places.
Niranjanand Puri Swami of Kanaka Peetha of Kaginele, Shivanand Puri Swami of Kanaka Peetha of K.R. Pet, Hampanagowda Badarli, Hampayya Naik, Pratapgouda Patil, Raghavendra Hitnal, legislators, were present.
