Set up separate bodies for Tulu, Kodava communities: MLC

MLC B K Hariprasad said that separate development bodies should be set up for Tulu-Kodava-speaking communities in the state.

Briefing reporters at Congress Bhavan in Mangaluru, he said that the state government has set up a separate body for the development of Maratha community.

It is Tuluvas who had contributed to the development of Kannada. Unfortunately, Tulu speaking people have been neglected by the state government, he alleged.

The state government’s move to set up a separate body for the Maratha community was a part of the conspiracy of the RSS to stop the reservation system through its outfit BJP, he opined.

“If the BJP-led government is implementing a separate authority for the Maratha community, then they should set up a body for the Tulu community also. People who speak Kodava and Tulu languages consider Kannada as their ‘Doddanna’. Hence, the government should also set up development authorities for Tulu and Kodava communities,” said the MLC.

Further, he said Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa or the Prime Minister may announce a reservation based on the population.

We have no objections to it if they do so. There is no provision for reservation based on caste, except for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Indian Constitution. By giving reservations for a caste, they are making a mockery of the system, he added.

Stating that it is those people with vested interests who are behind the refusal of reservation for deserving people, the Congress MLC said, “We had decided to provide 27% reservation in higher education when Arjun Singh was the HRD minister, way back in 2006. However, the percentage of reservation given in NEET this year is zero.”

“It is those with a vested interest who do not want the poor and underprivileged who have faced suppression over the years to come to the mainstream of society. Our ancestors had made a provision in the Constitution to enable the government to provide reservation for weaker sections of the society,” he said.

Even after several years, SC/ST and OBC communities are unable to enjoy the complete benefits of reservation that is due to them, owing to the vested interests, he added.

To a query on Karnataka bandh call given by pro-Kannada organisations on December 5, against the setting up of a development authority for Maratha community, Hariprasad said, “In a democratic setup, all of us have the right to express one’s views. We will not comment on it.”