Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson M. Lakshmana has claimed that veteran Congress leader and All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha chief Shamanur Shivashankarappa has been misled on the issue of postings to Lingayat officials in the party’s government in the State.
Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Monday, Mr Lakshmana said Mr Shivashankarappa is a respected leader of the Congress party, but vested interests may have misled him over personal grouses. The Congress Government in the State does not discriminate against officials on the grounds of caste, he said.
Citing information sourced from the Chief Minister’s Office to prove that the Lingayat community officers too were occupying key posts, the KPCC spokesperson said there were a total of 40 Chief Engineers working in different departments of the State government. “Of them, 10 are Lingayats, 9 are Vokkaligas, 4 belong to the Kuruba community and others comprise the rest,” he said. Similarly, of the 41 universities in the State, Lingayats occupied the post of Vi-C in 14 of them while Brahmins occupy 8 and others the rest.
Of the 272 IAS officers in the State, 70 belong to Karnataka cadre and Lingayats constitute 22 of them. Lingayats were the Deputy Commissioners in 4 districts while Vokkaligas have made the grade in 5 districts. A total of 10 Lingayats are in the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zilla Panchayats while Vokkaligas occupy the post in 9 other ZPs.
Similiarly, Mr Lakshmana claimed that there were 439 KAS officers in the State out of whom 102 belonged to the Lingayat community.
The KPCC spokesperson, however, said he was giving a caste-wise break-up of postings only to clarify that no community had been ignored. For, the posts of officials are not filled on the basis of political nomination, but on merit, he said. He added that the information he had shared would also clear the air of suspicion that plum posts were being cornered by the Kuruba community.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has never practiced caste politics and makes no distinction among officials on the basis of caste, he said, and added that he will seek an appointment with Mr. Shivashankarappa, who is also a Congress MLA representing Davangere South Assembly constituency, to clarify the factual position with regard to official postings.
The Congress government has seven Lingayat Ministers and given them important portfolios, Mr. Lakshmana said, adding that the party was hopeful of securing the support of not only Lingayat, but also Vokkaligas and all other communities in future elections.
