Former minister Eshwarappa wants CM Siddaramaiah to clarify his stand on Scheduled Tribes tag for Kurubas

Former minister K.S. Eshwarappa has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to clarify his stand on the issue of Scheduled Tribe tag for Kurubas and wants the State Government to respond to the Central Government’s correspondence on the issue.

In a press conference in Shivamogga on Friday (October 10, 2025), Mr. Eshwarappa said that the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government took a decision to recommend the Centre to consider the ST tag for the Kurubas, following protests and padayatra by the leaders of the caste under the leadership of Niranjanandapuri Swamy and others.

“CM Siddaramaiah, recently at a programme to celebrate Valmiki Jayanti, recalled my efforts in organising the padayatra seeking the ST tag for the Kurubas. I have no hesitation to admit my role in it. We took out a 350-km padayatra to put pressure on the government in 2021. The Bommai-led cabinet took the decision. The Congress government recommended the same to the Centre,” he stated.

The recommendation was made based on the ethnographic study of the caste. “Now, the Centre is said to have sought clarifications from the State Government on the recommendation. I wish the state government would respond to it,” he said.

Further, he maintained that not only Kurubas, all the castes that deserve the ST tag have the rights to demand. “If a caste demands the ST tag, it does not mean that they are snatching the share of someone else. With the inclusion of the new castes under the STs, the quantum of reservation should go in tune with the population,” he added.