Madiga Samaj members take out protest march in Kalaburagi seeking internal quota

They say that Siddaramaiah is not showing any interest in implementing internal reservation, though the Congress included it in its poll manifesto

Demanding the implementation of sub-classification of Scheduled Castes as per a Supreme Court judgement, the district unit of Madiga Samaj Sanghatane Okkuta staged a half-naked protest here on Wednesday.

Members of Madiga community from various taluks across the district joined the protest at Jagat Circle and took out a half-naked protest march to the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

The agitators divided themselves into two groups and staged protests at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk and in front of the Mini Vidhana Soudha and blocked roads to restrict vehicular movement for more than two hours.

Okkuta leaders Ramesh Wadekar and Gopalrao Kattimani said that though the Supreme Court on August 1 this year ruled that there are no Constitutional hurdles for the respective State governments to implement internal reservation among Scheduled Castes, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is not showing any interest in implementing internal reservation.

Mr. Kattimani recalled that the Congress included internal reservation, as recommended by the A.J. Sadashiva Committee, in its election manifesto for the 2023 Assembly elections. But it has now failed to take further steps since the Supreme Court verdict. This has upset the Scheduled Castes members.

“On the one hand, Mr. Siddaramaiah welcomes the Supreme Court verdict on internal reservation saying he is not against internal reservation, while on the other, he adopts dilly-dallying tactics in the implementation of sub-classification of Scheduled Castes,” Mr. Wadekar said.

Another Madiga leader Raju Mutthanna said that the community (Madiga) has been fighting for internal reservation for the last three decades. The Congress leaders are testing the patience of the community.

“But we have now lost our patience, as not only Mr. Siddaramaiah but also our own leaders AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge have betrayed us,” he added.

The agitators have already set a three-month deadline (from the date of the Supreme Court verdict, i.e., August 1 to October 30) for the State government to implement internal reservation. They have now appealed to the Okkuta members from all districts across the State to unite for a State-wide Jail Bharo Andolan.

Meanwhile, the Okkuta dropped a plan to take out the mock funeral procession of Mr. Siddaramaiah in an effigy, after a team of police officers visited Okkuta leader Dashrath Kalgurti at his residence late on Tuesday night and issued a warning.

Published - October 16, 2024 07:52 pm IST