Belagavi, 16 Dec

After their request for permission to hold a protest in front of the Suvarna Vidhan Soudha was denied for the second time, members of the Panchamasali Lingayat community protested at Channamma Circle on Monday demanding reservation in the 2A category.

Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peeth seer Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swami, speaking at the protest, warned the district administration that if an alternative location for the demonstration was not provided, they would block the national highway on Tuesday. "The district administration assured us of an alternate location. If they fail to deliver, we will escalate our protests," the seer said.

Following the protest at Channamma Circle, the community members continued their dharna at Gandhi Bhavan, a private location. Swamiji expressed the community's anger over the lathi charge on protesters near Suvarna Vidhan Soudha and declared that the indefinite strike would continue until Chief Minister Siddaramaiah apologized for the incident.

Swamiji also called for the withdrawal of Siddaramaiah’s statement in the Legislative Council, where he termed the demand for 2A reservation by the Panchamasali community as "unconstitutional." The seer demanded the removal of the statement from the house proceedings.