Members of the Panchamasali Reserve Agitation Committee staged a protest in Belagavi on Wednesday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Members of the Panchamasali Reservation Agitation Committee staged a protest outside the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha building on Wednesday to seek recategorization of their community.
The activists who marched towards the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha held placards against the state government for not providing benefits of 2A reservation to the community.
Several leaders, including Basava Jaya Mrityunjaya Swami of the Panchamasali Peeth, were taken away in police vehicles.
They staged a silent protest with black badges and ribbons. The march started from Gandhi Bhavan. They blocked the Rani Channamma circle for almost half an hour. For the next half an hour they held a dharna in the Sangolli Rayanna circle.
Protesters clashed with the police. The police took everyone into custody. Some of them raised slogans when the police arrested the seers.
Basanagouda MLA Patil Yatnal, who led the procession, was not taken into custody as he was moving forward with the group. He went to the state highway and took the vehicle to Soudha to attend the meeting.
Earlier, Mr. Yatnal accused the government of curtailing the Panchamasali protest. “Last year they ordered lathi charge against protesters. We want to observe December 10 as Panchamasalis atrocity day. The Chief Minister and others should remember that no government that uses force against its citizens will survive,” he said.
“The state government is interested in Tipu Jayanti but not in justice to Panchamasalis. When we raised the issue of Panchamasali reservation, our own community leader Vijayananda Kashappanavar talked about Tipu Jayanti. On other occasions he avoided participating in the discussion,” said Mr. Yatnal.
Former minister CC Patil said the Panchamasali agitation has not stopped despite several setbacks.
“We will fight till we get reservation. Some members of the public are not joining the agitation. But that’s okay. People are with us,” he said. He said it would become an election issue in the future.
Published – 10 Dec 2025 20:40 IST
