Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 27: Karnataka is engulfed in a massive turmoil over the Basavraj Bommai government’s plans to change the reservation pattern in the state ahead of the state Assembly elections, even as a party member of the state Assembly Madal Virupakshappa, chairman of the state-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd which manufacture the famous “Mysore Sandal” brand of soaps, was arrested on Monday over corruption charges.
A massive demonstration and stone-pelting was reported outside the home of BJP veteran and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district on Monday afternoon. Virupakshappa also happens to be a close follower of Yediyurappa, a member of the BJP parliamentary board.
Dramatic visuals showed police cracking down on hundreds of protesters from four communities — Banjara, Korchi, Bovi and Kurmi. They were protesting against the Karnataka government’s recent decision on reservation for Scheduled Castes.
The Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government has recommended to the centre a new breakup of the reservation for Scheduled Castes in education and jobs. They have recommended that out of the 17 per cent reservation for the Scheduled Castes, 6 per cent be earmarked for Scheduled Castes (left), 5.5 per cent for Scheduled Castes (right), 4.5 per cent for “touchables” and one per cent to others. In Karnataka, within the Scheduled Castes, followers of Babu Jagjivan Ram are categorised as ‘right’, and those who follow BR Ambedkar are in the ‘left’ category.
The decision was taken on the basis of a report by the AJ Sadashiva Commission. The panel was formed in 2004 by the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) government led by Dharam Singh. The Banjara community maintains that the survey was conducted hastily.
Leaders of the Banjara community have alleged that they would lose out due to the state government’s decision on reservation and demanded that the state government immediately withdraw the recommendation to the centre.
Monday’s protest was organised by the Banjara community in Shikaripura. They gathered outside the residence of Mt Yediyurappa, also the BJP’s parliamentary board member, to demand that the new reservation proposal not be implemented. The Banjara community is a scheduled caste subgroup in the state. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes together account for 24 per cent of Karnataka’s population.
Muslim leaders too have slammed the BJP government after the recommendation sought to remove Muslims from the 2B category of Other Backward Classes, which gave them four per cent reservation. The opposition parties have also criticised the BJP government for “taking away” the reservation benefits of Muslims to pass on the benefits to the “Vokkaligas” for vote bank politics.
The state cabinet has decided to split the 4 per cent between Vokkaligas and Veerashaiva-Lingayats. The move was seen as the BJP government’s attempt to woo voters from the two influential communities ahead of the crucial May election, which is being considered a tough fight for the BJP reeling under corruption allegations and a leadership vacuum.
Under the new reservation proposal, the Muslims would be competing with others from the general category for the 10 per cent reservation meant for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Muslim leaders have termed it “grave injustice” and a political move by the ruling BJP.
“Today, Muslims are below the SC and ST in terms of education. You can make out from the atrocities being perpetrated against the Muslims,” Maulavi Maqsood Imran of Jamia Masjid and a member of the Ulema Council said at a recent gathering of leaders from the community. “We want to appeal to the Vokkaliga and Lingayat seers whether they would like to take those rights which were snatched from others and given to them. We want them to build pressure on the government to get their due share of reservation,” he said.
The proposed changes in the reservation formula have been opposed by Dalit bodies too. The Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (Ambedkar Vada) has said the new policy would not stand judicial scrutiny. The state government’s decision has already been challenged in Karnataka High Court.
Madal Virupakshappa, whose bail in the corruption case was recently cancelled, was arrested near Kyathsandra toll booth near Tumakuru Road by the Lokayukta police on basis of a tip-off. Sources said he was travelling from Channagiri in Davangere district to Bengaluru.
Madal Virupakshappa was named as the prime accused in the case after his son, Prashanth Madal, was caught allegedly accepting a ₹ 40 lakh bribe, allegedly on his behalf, last month. The bribe was to meant to secure a tender to supply raw materials to Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd, said the Lokayukta police, which was investigating the case.
In the raid that followed, unaccounted cash worth ₹ 8 crore was seized from his house. The Channagiri MLA had claimed that it was proceeds from the sale of arecanut (supari). Shortly after, Virupakshappa stepped down from the chairman post.
Earlier this month, the MLA got a hero’s welcome at his home town in Davangere when he surfaced after getting anticipatory bail. But the bail was challenged in the top court, which asked him to appear and defend it. The MLA has denied wrongdoing and said he was being framed by his political rivals. He also claimed that his son, who was caught red -handed acting bribe, was innocent. Someone had planted the money in his son’s office, the MLA claimed.
Prashanth Madal is a Karnataka Administrative Services officer and is the chief accounts officer of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board. “I am 100 percent confident that I will be acquitted in the case. The source of money seized from my house is not corruption. The money is from agriculture and other legitimate businesses run by the family,” Virupakshappa had told the media. Virupakshappa is a close aide of Lingayat strongman Yediyurappa, one of the tallest leaders from Davangere district.
The MLA’s arrest came weeks after he went on the run after the Lokayukta allegedly caught Virupakshappa’s son V Prakash Madal accepting a bribe on the evening of March 2. The MLA resurfaced in Channagari days later and after he received anticipatory bail, his supporters organised a procession in the constituency and some even poured milk on his photograph in a village temple in Davangere. The episode embarrassed the BJP-led government that has been battling corruption allegations. The arrest is likely to give the Opposition more ammo with which to attack the ruling party ahead of the elections.
The 72-year-old Virupakshappa is a two-time legislator from Channagiri and one of the most well-known faces in the district. He belongs to the Sadar Lingayat community, which is a Lingayat subsect. He started his political career in the Congress and later joined the BJP, winning his first election in 2008.
When Yediyurappa severed ties with the BJP and floated the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) in 2012, Virupakshappa followed him and pledged his loyalty to the veteran BJP leader. He lost the Assembly election that year to Congress’s Vadnal Rajanna. After Yediyurappa returned to the BJP in 2014, Virupakshappa followed. In 2018, Virupakshappa managed to win from Channagiri but was not given a Cabinet berth. Two years later, during Yediyurappa’s tenure as CM, he was appointed the chairperson of KSDL.
