Belagavi
Jagadguru Basavajaya Mrutyunjaya Swamiji of Kudalasangama Lingayat Panchamasali Peetham has said that a protest will be launched at Nippani on September 10 demanding category 2A reservation for Lingayat Panchamasali samaj and recommendation to include all sub-sects of the society in the central government’s OBC reservation list.
Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, he said, we along with the MLAs of the samaj had met the Chief Minister to fulfil our demands. He had promised to hold a meeting after the budget session. However, the Government has not taken any action so far. So we have decided to hold another round of protest. On September 10, on the occasion of Shravana month, we will launch the agitation with a mass ishtalinga puja from Nippani taluk on the border. At Nippani, we will garland the memorials of Rani Channamma, Basaveshwara, Shivaji Maharaj and farmers. More than 10,000 people will participate. Finally, we will conclude the protest in front of Kudalasangama or Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, he said.
The protest will be held in 21 districts including Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura and Dharwad. We are going to fight on a spiritual front. Our demands should be fulfilled before the Lok Sabha elections. The government should remove the complications of the case in the court on the issue of reservation. There is no difficulty in recommending the OBC reservation report pending since 2002 to the Centre. The State Government should take immediate action in this regard. We will not protest violently in any way. We will bring about a revolution through peace, he said. Reacting to Minister Shivanand Patil’s statement that farmers commit suicide for money, Swamiji said, the minister should not speak like that. I don’t know at what moment he spoke like this. We advise him to withdraw his statement, he said.Panchamasali Samaja Honorary District President RK Patil, City President Shivananda Tambaki and Raju Magadumma were present at the press meet.
