Karnataka - Tumkur   

Quota hasn't helped anyone: Kumaraswamy

Staff Correspondent

`Politicians trying to mislead people for their advantage'

TUMKUR: The former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president, H.D. Deve Gowda, has described the Thigala community as the "most backward among all the other backward classes (OBCs)."

Mr. Deve Gowda was scheduled to preside over the Akhila Bharata Thigala Samavesha at Hanumanthapura, near here, on Sunday. As he could not make it, the party's Tumkur district unit president, H.Ningappa, read out his speech.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy later inaugurated the meet.

Mr. Deve Gowda said, "The Thigala community in the State is in an disadvantageous position socially and economically, although the people of the community are hard working. They have been denied opportunities in politics and education."

"Since the last five years, I have been asking successive governments to evolve `internal reservation' so that the Thigala community could be helped to improve its economic status," he said.

"I will continue to fight for internal reservation," he said and added that the community had been steadfast in its support to the JD (S).

Kumaraswamy's stand

Mr. Kumaraswamy, however, differed from his father. He said, "reservation has failed to help any community in the last 40 years. Even if the internal reservation is evolved, it will hardly help any community to prosper."

Stating that there were poor people in all communities, including Brahmins and Lingayats, Mr. Kumaraswamy said, "A 38-year-old Brahmin woman in Dakshina Kannada district earned Rs. 200 a month and she was taking care of her husband and son, both of whom are sick."

"I have no hesitation to say that we (politicians) have been trying to mislead the people on reservation only to gain political advantage," he said.

Some families from among Dalits and OBCs, who were closely linked to political parties, had benefited from reservation.

The others were left in the lurch, he added.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said, "I am sure reservation will not help any poor family even if it is continued for the next 200 years."

Instead, Mr. Kumaraswamy said, he was for ushering in development programmes to improve the economic status of the poor in all communities.

Plea

The Thigala community urged Mr. Kumaraswamy to give effect to an order issued by the Devaraj Urs Ministry that lands cultivated by Thigalas within the limits of small, medium and big cities be exempted from conversion into residential and commercial purposes.

They said the lands were used for growing fruits, vegetables and they served as lung spaces in cities.

Mr. Kumaraswamy promised to implement the order.

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Quota hasn't helped anyone: Kumaraswamy

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