Karnataka puts Lingayat OBC plan on hold

BENGALURU: The Karnataka cabinet on Friday deferred a decision on recommending the inclusion of Veerashaiva-Lingayat community in the Centre’s list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) after BJP’s not-so-subtle message that the issue should be discussed in the party fora first to study its feasibility.
“This is a very important issue that needs to be discussed with the party’s top brass. I will meet them in Delhi in two-three days,” CM BS Yediyurappa said and admitted that Union home minister Amit Shah has called him to Delhi in this regard.
Sources said the CM made a U-turn after a Union minister called him, saying any decision involving the state and the Centre should be taken collectively after thorough discussions. “Otherwise, it would reflect badly on the party and its governments,” the minister is reported to have told the CM. Sources said the cabinet deferred the decision since a few ministers said several other smaller sects of the dominant communities, including Kunchatiga-Vokkaligas, should be included in the OBC list. TNN