CM Siddaramaiah’s ego led to escalation of Panchamasali protests: Basavaraj Bommai

New Delhi: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said that the ego of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was the main reason for the government facing ire from Panchamasali Lingayat protesters in the state.

The Panchamasali Lingayat community has been demanding their inclusion in the 2A category of Other Backward Castes (OBC). The community leaders have been trying to meet the CM since the Congress-led government came to power in the state last year. However, the CM did not bother to invite them to talks, he said.

For the past three decades, things have changed in society. Several communities have been demanding higher quotas in the reservation. The Chief Minister should have invited such communities for discussion and tried to resolve the issue, he said.

Previous BJP government gave reservation to the Panchamasali community. Since the matter was pending in the Supreme Court, the then BJP government could not take it to a logical conclusion. The Congress government, instead of holding talks with the community leaders, is taking revenge against the particular communities, he added.

Condemning the police lathicharge against the protesters, Bommai said the state government approach was to suppress the democratic rights of the common people.