Government will do whatever possible under law for better reservations, says Yediyurappa

Amid demands from various communities in the state for better reservation, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday said that his government would do whatever was possible within the ambit of the law and the Constitution.

"We will put in honest efforts to do whatever is possible within the ambit of the Constitution and law. What has been done in other states in the country, I can do it here," he told reporters here in response to a question.

The Chief Minister said the matter was being discussed and after consulting legal experts, the Advocate General and other important people, the government would try to do whatever was possible.

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There have been demands to revise the reservation for the Panchamasali Lingayat, Kuruba and Valmiki communities. While the Panchamasali sect are asking for Category 2A status, the Kurubas are agitating for the Scheduled Tribe tag. The Valmiki community, too, has been demanding that the reservation for ST be hiked from 3 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

Pontiffs of these politically influential communities are leading the agitation, pushing the Yediyurappa-led government to a difficult spot. Kudalasangama Panchamasali Mutt pontiff Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swami, who is spearheading the Category 2A stir, is leading a padayatra to Bengaluru to press for their demand.

Yediyurappa recently ordered the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes to prepare a report on including the Panchamasali sub-sect under Category 2A.

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The Kurubas too had recently organised a padayatra, led by Kaginele Kanakaguru Peeta seer Niranjanandapuri Swami, from Kaginele to Bengaluru and had organised a mammoth rally on Sunday near here, demanding the ST tag.

They are currently OBCs in Karnataka. Meanwhile, Maharshi Valmiki Gurupeetha Seer Prasannananda Swami has warned that he would go on an indefinite fast if the hike in reservation was not announced within a month.