Will help Kunchatigas get OBC tag: Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Making a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday assured that his government would recommend to the Union government inclusion of members of Kunchatiga community (a sub-sect of dominant Vokkaliga community) in OBC list.

Speaking at a convention organised by members of Kunchatiga community here, Mr Siddaramaiah said, “Mere delivery of statements on equality or sending messages of growing together, will not be adequate. In order to convert such statements into reality, it requires lot of courage and commitment, which many leaders lack.”

Kunchatigas, a subsect of Vokkaligas, reside in Tumakuru, Chitradurga and Kolar districts. According to the community leader and law minister T.B. Jayachandra, there are more than two million people belonging to this sub-sect. In his address at the convention, he said “We need to fight for our right to get OBC status which has been deprived since 1996 through the political machinations of a leader.” The CM said Kurubas, Gollas, Kunchatigas and Vokkaligas are on par in terms of rituals, and members of all these communities need to unite under a single banner. “There is not much of difference between any of these communities, be it in terms of worshipping or several rituals which are commonly practiced,” he added.

He added that all these backward communities need to organise community based rallies often in order to instil feeling of unity amongst themselves. “Whenever the community organises such events, it must organise on biggest scale like at least a lakh people of that community should participate in such programmes. Only then we can send loud and clear signals to our detractors,” he added.

Lashing out at those opposing community-based programmes, Mr Siddaramaiah alleged that whenever he announced the decision to conduct caste based census, many casteist forces opposed it vehemently. “This is a conspiracy by the casteisit forces in country that they do not like OBCs to be united forces,” he charged.