Karnataka would soon set up a development board for the betterment of Veerashaiva-Lingayat community in the southern State, an official said on Tuesday.
“Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa directed state chief secretary T.M, Vijay Bhaskar to constitute a Karnataka Veerashaiva-Lingayat Development Board for the socio-economic improvement of the dominant community in the state,” a Social Welfare department official told IANS here.
The decision to set up the board came three days after Yediyurappa on Saturday directed the department to form a Maratha Development Authority with Rs 50-crore corpus for the welfare of Marathas living in the state.
The dominant Lingayat community is estimate to account for 16 per cent of the state's 7-crore population.
Incidentally, Yediyarappa is considered the tallest Lingayat leader in the state though the community is considered economically and socially backward.
“Veerashaiva-Lingayats form a large community in the state, many of whom are economically, socially and educationally backward,” Yediyurappa said in a note to Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar. “The board will work for the overall development of the community,” said the Chief Minister.
Several Lingayat legislators of the ruling BJP, opposition Congress and JD-S urged Yediyurappa to set up the board for the Lingayat sect, whose members are more than other communities across the state.
Congress lawmaker M.B. Patil and JD-S senior legislator Basaraj Horatti also urged the Chief Minister to make 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the Lingayats, as Maharashtra has done for Marathas in the neighbouring state.