The Panchamasali Lingayats's demand for reservation under the 2A category (OBC) has put the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka in a tight spot. The case related to the reallocation of the OBC quota (abolition of Muslim quota) is still pending before the Supreme Court, which, in its interim order, had asked the state government to maintain status quo.
On Tuesday, Belagavi, which is hosting the winter session of the state Legislature, witnessed violent scenes after the police resorted to lathi-charge to stop Panchamasali protesters from entering the Suvarna Soudha (secretariat) building. The incident left at least 50 protestors injured and the police too reported injuries to 20 personnel and damage to the vehicles.
In the aftermath, the National Highway (NH4) was blocked for hours as protestors demanded the chief minister to come to the spot. The opposition BJP and the JDS accused the ruling Congress of adopting a "Hitler-style administration" and demanded the suspension of officers responsible for the "police excesses".
Basava Mrutyunjaya Swami of Kudalasangama, the pontiff leading the agitation expressed outrage against the government for poor handling of a "peaceful" protest and threatened to intensify the protest till their demands were met.
On December 9, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the Assembly that he would present the Supreme Court’s order and the affidavit submitted by the previous BJP government regarding the Panchamasali 2A reservation.
“The Panchamasali community has long demanded inclusion under the 2A category. After assuming office, I have met their leaders, including Jayamrityunjaya Swamiji, twice and assured them of my support. However, the issue requires a report from the State’s Permanent Backward Classes Commission," said Siddaramaiah, adding that the previous BJP government's affidavit before the SC was a hurdle to include Panchamasali under 2A.
"The Bommai government cancelling the 4% quota for Muslims and reallocating it equally to Lingayats and Vokkaligas was challenged in the Supreme Court by Muslim groups, prompting the BJP-led government to file an affidavit maintaining the status quo. The court’s subsequent order reinforced this position, leaving no room for changes," alleged Siddaramaiah.
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai rubbished Siddaramaiah's claims saying, "The Kantharaju Commission during Siddaramaiah's tenure as CM, had rejected the Panchamasalis demand in 2016. My government had passed an order granting enhanced quota for Veerashaiva-Lingayats (after abolishing Muslim quota). But some Congress supporters challenged the reservation order in the Supreme Court. As the case hearing coincided with Assembly polls, the BJP government’s legal team (through an affidavit) requested no orders should be passed before hearing out their arguments. The Supreme Court had asked the government to hold back the reservation order until the next hearing."
Bommai clarified that his government has not withdrawn the order but only complied with the court's interim directions.
"Siddaramaiah is misrepresenting the facts. It is disappointing and misleading. I urge the CM to ask his supporters to withdraw the petition in the Supreme Court. Alternatively, the state should defend the reservation order in court and take all necessary measures to implement the new reservation policy," said Bommai.
It may be recalled that the Basavaraj Bommai government had scrapped the existing 4% reservation (2B category) for Muslims under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota citing there was no Constitutional provision for reservation based on religion or religious minorities and moved them to the 10 % pool for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
Just before the Assembly polls last year, the Bommai government split the abolished quota (for minorities) equally (2% each) among the Lingayats and Vokkaligas. The Panchamasali Lingayat, a dominant subsect of the Lingayat community and core vote bank of the BJP had been demanding a change in the reservation category from 3B (5%) to 2A (15%). A similar demand for 12% was being made by the Vokkaliga community, which enjoyed 4% reservation under the 3A category in the OBC list. The BJP government created two new categories under the OBC list - 2C for Lingayats and 2D for Vokkaligas to enhance the quota to 6% and 7% respectively.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Backward Castes Federation has opposed the inclusion of Panchamasali Lingayats into 2A, stating the community was never classified as "backward" by any of the state Backward Classes Commissions and its inclusion would deprive the deserving backward communities of reservation benefits.
