Panchamasalis stage protests in Belagavi, Bagalkot districts

They demand action against the police for lathi-charge on community members

Members of the Zilla Panchamasali Samaj staged protests in some districts on Thursday, against the lathi-charge on Panchamasali Reservation Agitation Committee members during a protest in Belagavi on Tuesday.

Members gathered at the Shivayogi Circle in Athani. They blocked the road for a few minutes by forming a human chain.

They said that the State government has violated human rights by lathi-charging the protestors. This is unbecoming of a democratically elected government. The Chief Minister and other Ministers and officers who are responsible for this should be ashamed, they said.

They should tender an apology, take action against the police and withdraw cases against the protestors, the protestors demanded.

They threatened to intensify the agitation in future.

In Yadur near Chikkodi, activists burnt tyres to protest against the lathi-charge. They raised slogans against the State government, the Chief Minister and the police.

They said that the State government is trying to suppress a protest being carried out for a justified purpose. They demanded the withdrawal of cases against the protestors.

Tejugouda Patil, Veerugouda Patil, Amit Patil, Jinendra Ugare, Mahesh Belavi, Popat Karoshi, Shreeshail Kothiwale and other leaders were present.

In Belagavi, some advocates submitted a memorandum to the State government seeking action against Additional Director-General of Police R. Hitendra saying that he mismanaged the protest and ordered lathi-charge on the protestors.

R.P. Patil, S.S. Patil and others were present.

In Bagalkot, the former Minister Murugesh Nirani joined a protest rally. The protestors blocked the road near Shirur Cross and shouted slogans against the Congress government and the Chief Minister.

Mr. Nirani said that it is the moral responsibility of Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar to ensure that the community gets reservation under OBC category 2A. “If she does that, she will be repaying a debt to the community. We will felicitate her in Bagalkot,” he said.

He also asked legislators from the community to fight for it in the session. “If the demand is not fulfilled, they should resign,” he said.

He said that the BJP governments in the past have been sympathetic to the cause. “As Chief Minister, B.S. Yediyurappa provided reservation under 3B and Basavaraj Bommai provided 2D quota. But they could not be implemented due to legal and technical reasons. What we need now is a non-partisan struggle,” he said.

Leader Kallappa Bhagavati gave a call to the community to take up a revolutionary struggle like Rani Channamma as peaceful protests like those led by Sri Basaveshwara are not yielding results.

Leaders Shreeshail Karishankari, Ravi Pattan, Basavaraj Rajur, Gurubasava Sindhnur and others were present.

Published - December 12, 2024 08:01 pm IST