Banjaras oppose new SC internal reservation scheme, pelt stone on Yediyurappa’s home

According to Raghavendra Naik, one of the protesters, members of the community under the Banjara Seva Sangha and other groups demonstrated in front of the Shikaripura taluk panchayat office demanding that either Yediyurappa or his son and Shivamogga MP B Y Raghavendra arrive there to receive their memorandum. This resulted in a tense situation prompting police to resort to mild lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.

Angered by the police action, the protesters from the Banjara, Bhovi, Koracha and Korama communities pelted stones on Yediyurappa’s house, which is close to the taluk panchayat office. A police constable was injured in the incident. The protesters also burnt photos of Yediyurappa and Bommai.

Naik said the people were angry over various internal quotas announced under SC reservation, which he argued were against the law. The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders in Shikaripura town.

The BJP government announced internal reservation in the 17 per cent SC quota for around 101 castes following a cabinet meeting on March 24. The SC Left category, which consists of 29 communities including Madigas, was awarded 6 per cent of the quota. The SC Right category, which has around 25 communities such as Holeyas, got 5.5 per cent of the quota while touchable communities such as Banjaras and Bhovis got 4.5 per cent and the other SC communities got the remaining 1 per cent. This left the touchable communities unhappy as their share in the reservation pool was restricted to 4.5 per cent.

“Naturally I am hurt by this (the violent protest),” Yediyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru. He said the incident could have been caused by some misconceptions. “The situation is now peaceful. Tomorrow or the day after, I will visit Shikaripura and talk to everyone concerned and address their grievances,” he said.

The former chief minister refused to blame anyone for the incident, adding that it was too early to say whether the protesters were provoked. “Issuing any statement (about any provocation) before talking to the protesters is not right. At this moment, I am not ready to say that someone was behind the protest,” he added.

Bommai, however, pointed the finger at the Congress. “Local Congress leaders have provoked [the protest]. Unable to bear that the BJP has provided social justice to these communities, they are provoking violence. The Banjara community should not fall for this. The BJP has always protected the community and will continue to do so,” he said, condemning the incident.