Madiga Reservation Horata Samithi (MRHS) has condemned the government for suppressing the recent demonstration staged by Madiga community in Belagavi.
Addressing a press conference at Reporters’ Guild here on Thursday, the organisation’s leaders Ambanna Arolikar and J.B. Raju alleged that the police did not allow the 10,000 madiga community members to stage a protest outside Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (SVS) where winter session of the state legislature was underway.
“All others were allowed to protest near Suvarna Vidhana Soudha putting forth their demands. But, only Madigas were prevented. The police stopped the community members from entering the city and lodged in different places. Only after much resistance and heated arguments with the police top brass, all the detained members were put together around 25 kms away from the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha,” J.B. Raju said and condemned the “discrimination” meted out by the police.
He said that people from Madiga community wanted to pressurise the government to adopt the Justice Sadashiva panel report that recommended internal reservation for communities classified under Scheduled Castes.
“Like many others, we too had gone to Belagavi not for creating law and order problems and disrupting the Session, but for presenting our community demands. We were deprived of our constitutionally guaranteed right to protest against injustice and exploitation,” Ambanna Arolikar alleged.
Both the leaders said that the agitation was withdrawn after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised that the final decision on Justice Sadashiva report would be taken in the next Cabinet meet.
“The Chief Minister has said that the report in question has already been sent to Law Department. He also said that the Kannada version of the report is also ready and would be circulated among all legislatures for their opinions, after which the final decision would be taken in the next Cabinet,” Ambanna said.
He warned that Madiga community members would launch state-wide ‘Jail Bharo’ agitation on Republic Day if the government fail to keep its words on the issue.
