‘Get me the Dalit, minority vote’

Bhaskar Hegde

Even as the Kuruba community pressed for making him Chief Minister, Opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah called on the community to win the hearts of Dalits, minorities and the oppressed classes.

" Unless we seize political power, our plight will not improve. You all should strive for this," he said. Delivering his presidential address at the Kurubas convention organised by the Kuruba Mahasabha, Siddaramaiah said one rally would not get him the CM's post.

"Do you think, I can become CM if you pass a resolution? If If I have to become CM, I have to get the votes of all communities particularly the oppressed classes. As the third largest community in the state, it is your responsibility to secure the support of these sections for the cause. If you achieve that you will get power," Mr Siddaramaiah said.

The former deputy CM referred to the fact that in the Nineties, there were almost 20 Kuruba MLAs which had come down to five now. "Unless we have political reservation for the OBCs, such a situation cannot be prevented. We need to press for political reservation for OBCs," he said. He also urged the Central government to immediately recognize the Kurubas as a Scheduled Tribe (ST).

[Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle, May 7, 2012]