Lingayat Veerashaiva members seek Central OBC status

Leaders submitted memorandum to Karnataka govt. to mount pressure for the inclusion

BJP and Congress leaders belonging to Veershaiva Lingayat community congregated outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi on Monday to submit a memorandum to Karnataka government and mount pressure for the inclusion of the community under Central Other Backward Classes list.

All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha district president Sharankumar Modi, in a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, stated that of the 102 sub-sects, only 16 sub-castes of Veerashaiva Lingayat are considered in OBC in the central list. Inclusion of Veerashaiva Lingayat under the central list of OBC has been a long standing demand of the community, the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha has been pressing for this since 1994.

Mr. Sharankumar Modi said that as per the report of the Karnataka Third Backward Classes Commission, submitted by Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy Commission recommended that the Veerashaiva Lingayat community, which has remained economically, educationally and socially backward for decades, and the consecutive government’s at the Centre have failed to include the community in the Central list of OBCs.

Securing Central OBC status will be beneficial to the community as it provides 27% reservation in employment, Mr. Modi added.

Earlier, tension prevailed after a heated argument took place between the Congress and the BJP leaders when some of the Congress leaders raised slogans claiming that the RSS has opposed OBC status for Veerashaiva Lingayat. However, leaders from both the parties intervened and calmed down the matter.

Political leaders, cutting across party lines, including MLA M.Y.Patil, former MLC Amarnath Patil, former MLA Doddappagowda Naribol, Chandrakant Patil, Neelkanth Mulge, were present.