Madiga stir over internal quota puts govt on the mat

Bengaluru: Madigas are on the warpath again over internal reservation, posing a fresh political challenge for Congress after it moved to fill 56,432 posts under the old 15% Scheduled Caste quota without internal reservation. With Left sect SCs calling for a day-and-night protest from March 12, pressure is mounting on the Siddaramaiah govt to clarify its stand. Representatives within the community warn that a failure to address the demand could result in a political fallout, especially ahead of byelections to Bagalkot and Davanagere North assembly seats.
Ambanna Arolikar of Madiga Dandora Samiti said the organisation has decided to oppose Congress in the bypolls. "Congress appears to be dilly-dallying with our right to internal reservation," he said. "We have waited for 35 years for successive govts to give us what is our right. Our community is looking to teach the govt a lesson." SC representatives say that while the Madiga community may not be a decisive electoral force in every constituency, the intention is to send a strong message ahead of the more significant zilla and taluk panchayat elections. "Madigas and Left sect communities have at least 5,000 to 10,000 votes in every assembly constituency," Arolikar said. Karnataka has an estimated 34 lakh Madigas and members of the Left sects, of whom about 20 lakh are part of the voting population. Sensing an opportunity, BJP has stepped up its attack on Congress. BJP MLC and opposition chief whip in the legislative council N Ravi Kumar alleged that the govt had gone back on its word. "The decision to backtrack on internal reservation while calling for application for govt jobs is nothing but cheating SC communities," he said. "Along with general quota aspirants' unrest over delay in filling vacancies, we are ready to create awareness against this inactive govt." However, Congress functionaries were confident the issue would be resolved at Thursday's cabinet meeting. "Our govt is committed to providing internal reservation. There is nothing wrong in some sections lobbying for it," said Ramesh Babu, Congress spokesperson and MLC. "There has been some confusion on the issue but efforts are being made to reverse the negative impact." Vijayanand Kashappanavar, Hungund MLA, brushed off the threat saying he did not expect major electoral repercussions in Bagalkot but acknowledged reservation demands require careful handling. "Even we, Panchamasali Lingayats, have been fighting for 2A reservation but we must wait. Reservation in general is not an overnight process and people have to wait for it," he said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Holi wishes, messages and quotes !