Madigas set August 10 deadline for internal reservation

Tumakuru, DHNS: Elected representatives and prominent members of the Madiga community – a Scheduled Caste – on Saturday warned the Karnataka government of calling for a state-wide bandh if it fails to implement internal reservation by August 10.

Chitradurga MP and former Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol, former Union Minister V Narayanaswami, and vice-president of the Tumakuru district unit of the BJP Y H Hucchayya, railed at the Congress government for failing to follow the Supreme Court’s order on internal reservation.

Demanding that the internal reservation matrix be announced by August 10, Narayanaswami said that members of the Madiga community would hold demonstrations in front of the Deputy Commissioners’ offices in all districts of the state on August 1 to express their disgruntlement with the government. “If the government fails to implement internal reservation by August 10, we will not allow the government to function. It has been almost a year since the Supreme Court issued its verdict on this issue. The state government has taken more than five months for its survey, but has still not completed the exercise,” rued the former Union Minister.

Pointing to the 35-year-long struggle of the Madigas, who have been fighting for its rights, Narayanaswami said that members of the community were losing patience. “CM Siddaramaiah keeps insisting on the report of the survey to be submitted before taking any decision,” he said.