Basanagouda Patil Yatnal threatens stir in Assembly over quota for Panchamasali Lingayat sect

BJP member Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has threatened to stage a protest in the Assembly if Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa fails to provide clarity on when the government will decide on giving Category 2A status to the Panchamasali Lingayat sect.

“I want the CM to say how long it will take... two, three, four months? Or, let him say he won’t do it at all,” Yatnal said, raising the issue in the Assembly. Yediyurappa was not in the House. He said he would stage a protest when the Assembly session resumes on March 15.

“When I met the CM yesterday, he said he’ll reply in the House positively. Now, he’s absconding,” Yatnal said. CM’s political secretary M P Renukacharya objected to the use of the word ‘absconding’ and engaged in a verbal duel with Yatnal.

“We will have to face people in two years. Even you will have to face people,” Yatnal told Renukacharya.

“The CM is where he is today because of the support from our community,” he said.

A known critic of Yediyurappa, Yatnal has been doggedly pursuing the Category 2A status for the Panchamasalis, the sect that he belongs to.

“This needn’t go to the Centre. The Cabinet can take a decision. We have to go to the Centre only when there’s a need to insert castes or communities into the SC/ST list,” Yatnal said.

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

Yatnal also found fault with the government’s decision to constitute a 3-member committee to look into the issue of reservation.

“This is a trick to buy time,” he said. “When there’s a permanent (backward classes) commission, what’s the need for another panel?,” Yatnal said.