Jamakhandi BJP MLA’s remarks on doing away with reservation draws Dalit groups’ ire

BAGALKOT: A comment on reservation by Jamakhandi BJP MLA Jagadish Gudagunti has stirred a controversy with members of Dalit groups trying to lay siege to his house on Tuesday night and staging protest.

Members of Dalit groups were stopped by the police from laying siege to the MLA’s house.

Speaking at a felicitation programme at Siddapura village in Jamakhandi taluk, the MLA, while quoting a verse from poet-saint Kanakadasa, said if reservation is done away with, “everyone will become top class”.

The Dalit activists later staged a protest.

“Kanakadasa advised people not to fight in the name of ‘kula’. If you look at it, there is, in fact, no ‘kula’. But they have brought in reservation and we now fight for a share of it. If reservation is done away with, everyone will be in top class”, Jagadish Gudagunti said.

This angered Dalit groups and leaders of several organisations tried to lay siege to the MLA’s house in Jamakhandi on Tuesday night. When the police tried to prevent them, they got into a wordy duel with the personnel. The Dalit activists also staged a protest.