Horatti demands quota for Lingayats

Lamenting that the government's announcement to set up Veerashaiva-Lingayat Development Corporation lacks clarity as allocation of funds is not mentioned, MLC Basavaraj Horatti on Thursday said, "what is more important is 16% to 18% reservation for the Lingayat community, and a delegation will be taken to the chief minister to urge him to fulfill this demand".

The corporation was announced in a hurry, without proper study or discussion. The population of Lingayats in Karnataka is 1.18 crore, and very few people would benefit even if Rs 1,000 crore is given to the corporation every year, he said.

"We are also urging the Union Government to include Lingayat community in the OBC list," he noted.

There is nothing wrong in setting a development authority or corporation for Maratha community, as they are also residing in Karnataka. But, there should be some norms like benefits should be applicable only for those who have born in Karnataka and those who have learnt Kannada. It should be ensured that schemes should not be misused by pro-Maharashtra people like MES, Horatti added.