Provide reservation before LS polls or face agitation: Lingayat seer to K'taka govt

Davanagere : Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peeth seer Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swami on Tuesday warned the Congress government that if reservation is not provided to Panchamasali sub caste of Lingayat community before the Lok Sabha elections, a large scale agitation would be launched.

Interacting with mediapersons here, he said that a religious programme would be held on Friday to register the protest against the government for "not doing anything on reservation".

"The agitation has been launched for six years for reservation under the 2A quota. The previous BJP government had not taken appropriate steps. Now, the Congress government, headed by CM Siddaramaiah, has come to power. The community leaders are of the opinion that Siddaramaiah is less likely to respond to the demand and there is a need for a large-scale agitation again. The programme would be attended by 5,000 people," he said.

He urged chief minister that even as there is a delay to grant reservation under the 2A category, Lingayats must be included under the OBC category. The protest would be attended by BJP MLAs Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Arvind Bellad and Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni.