Panchamasali Lingayats to mount pressure for quota

Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peetha seer Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swami on Saturday announced a massive campaign to mount pressure on the government for Category 2A reservation for the community.

At present, the Panchamasalis come under Category 3B with a 5 per cent quota. Under Category 2A, they will get a share in the 15 per cent quota.

“The chief minister had sought six months’ time to look into our demand. The deadline ends in September,” the seer told reporters.

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“Starting October 1, we will have a satyagraha (demonstration) at Freedom Park,” he said. “From August 15 till September 30, we will take out the Panchamasali Pratigna Panchayat campaign to create awareness about our demand at the grassroots level. This will extend from Basavakalyan to the Male Mahadeshwara Hills,” he said, adding that it would culminate in the satyagraha from October 1 that happens to be former chief minister J H Patel’s birthday.

Panchamasali CM

The seer said the BJP high command should consider any one of the 17 Panchamasali Lingayat legislators for the chief minister’s post. “This isn’t a demand or an assertion. It’s good if they pick someone from our community,” he said, noting that three of them - Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Murugesh Nirani and Arvind Bellad - are being speculated for the post.