Lingayat quota stir turns violent in Karnataka, 50 hurt

BELAGAVI: A demonstration by Lingayat Panchamasali community near the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Karnataka’s Belagavi on Tuesday, demanding reservation under 2A category, turned violent, with 50 protesters suffering injuries as they clashed with police.
The Panchamasali are currently placed in the 3B category that offers 5% reservation in govt jobs and education, while 2A has 15% quota earmarked for the communities included in the category.
During the ‘Sangharsh Yatre’ called by Basavajaya Mrityunjaya Swamiji, the spiritual head of the movement, thousands of members from the community, including lawyers and politicians, marched from Kondasakoppa towards the Vidhana Soudha, blocking the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway for more than an hour and creating a tailback over 6 km.
As the protesters tried to force their way past police barricades, cops resorted to lathi-charge. The angry protesters retaliated by throwing stones and footwear at the police personnel, and shouted slogans against state govt and chief minister Siddaramaiah.
Police briefly detained Mrityunjaya Swamiji, Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and Dharwad legislator Arvind Bellad, along with some of the agitators, to restore normality.
Before the march started, a ministerial delegation visited the Kondasakoppa protest site and requested the community members to withdraw the agitation. However, the agitators demanded that the CM should visit the spot, or else they would storm into the Vidhana Soudha.
Later, responding to media queries at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, Siddaramaiah said: “We invited the Panchamasali leaders to discuss the issue, but they didn’t turn up. We are not opposed to protests as everybody has the right to protest in a democracy.”
Meanwhile, factionalism within state BJP was out in the open during the protest. As Yatnal’s followers shouted slogans against BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, party MLA Siddu Savadi took them on, resulting in heated arguments between the two sides. Police had to intervene to bring the situation under control.
In further embarrassment for the party, when BJP Rajya Sabha MP Iranna Kadadi praised former CM B S Yediyurappa in his speech, the agitators started shouting “sullu sullu” (false false).