BJP state vice president and former minister Malikayya Guttedar has urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to set up the Brahmashri Narayanaguru Development Corporation for the development of the people belonging to the Ediga community.
In a letter written to the chief minister, Guttedar said there were about 80 lakh people belonging to the Ediga community in the state and they had lagged behind socially and economically.
They were rendered jobless after a ban was imposed on extracting neera (toddy) in the state. Hence, a corporation should be created and Rs 400 crore should be set aside for the development of the community, he urged.
Guttedar told DH that he had demanded that the corporation be formed when Siddaramaiah was chief minister. The corporation could not be established though it was announced in the budget.
“Now, my party BJP is in power. I have not sought Cabinet berth for me, but have demanded that a corporation should be created for the betterment of the community. I can be a minister for two or three years, if I get a berth. But the community will benefit if the corporation is established. I hope the chief minister will fulfill my demand,” Guttedar said.
“A corporation has been established even for micro-communities. The people of Ediga community who are in large numbers in the state have not got much facilities from the government. More funds should be earmarked on the lines of money set aside for the Karnataka Veerashaiva-Lingayat Development Board,” he said.