Centre must include Lingayats in OBC category: Harish Rao

Minister Harish Rao said the Telangana government had passed a resolution in the Assembly recommending the Centre to include the community in the OBC category

Sangareddy: Finance Minister T Harish Rao said the Centre must include the Lingayat community in the OBC category if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was committed to the welfare of the community.

Addressing members of the community after laying a foundation stone for the Basava Bhavan at Kandi near Sangareddy on Saturday, the Minister said the Telangana government had passed a resolution in the Assembly recommending the Centre to include the community in the OBC category. Asking Union Minister G Kishan Reddy to take up the responsibility of this, he said Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had taken up many initiatives for the benefit of Lingayats since 2014 though previous governments had ignored the community.

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The youth of the community would get reservations in Central government jobs and educational institutions if the Centre accepted the State”s proposal. Stating that he was also influenced by the teachings of Lord Basava, the Minister said the Telangana government was celebrating Basava Jayanti officially apart from building Basava Bhavans in all districts. The State government had allocated land worth Rs.30 crore at Kokapet besides granting Rs.10 crore for building an ultramodern Bhavan. Recalling actor Rajinikanth”s appreciation for Hyderabad and the Telangana government, Rao, however, said opposition parties were unable to see the development.

Saying that Opposition parties were frequently talking of dethroning the Chandrashekhar Rao government, the Minister asked them to say why they really wanted to dethrone him from power. Was this because he was implementing Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Kalyana Lakshmi and other schemes, he asked.

Zaheerabad MP BB Patil, Andole MLA Chanti Kranthi Kiran, Handloom Corporation Chairman Chintha Prabhakar and DCMS chairperson Malkapuram Shiva Kumar were present.