Shantaram Siddi Becomes India's First MLC From Siddi community after being nominated by Karnataka Govt

Bengaluru, July 23: The Siddi community in Karnataka got its first lawmaker after Shantaram Budna Siddi became the first Siddi tribe member to be nominated for the Member Legislative Council by the BJP Government led by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. This is the first time a member of this minority Community was nominated in a legislative body in the country.

 

 

 

The Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala appointed 5 new MLC members from the BJP and Shantaram Budna Siddi, the state secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram which is a tribal welfare initiative of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was one of them.

 

Shantharama Siddi who hails from Hitlalli village of Yallapur in Uttara Kannada district had been working as a social worker. He holds a BA degree and he is the first-degree holder in the Siddi community. He joined Vanavasi Kalyanashram in 1989 as a Karyakarta, served as a hostel warden, and become the state secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram.

 

The Siddis are considered to an ethnic group in India. They are said to have descended from the people of the East African region. They are included in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Karnataka. About 50,000 Siddi people live all over India, of which, more than a third live in the northern parts of Karnataka. They speak their own language called Siddi Basha, and having lived in Karnataka for generations, they are also fluent in Kannada.

 

Meanwhile, apart from him, CP Yogishwar, who had left Congress to join BJP in 2017 is also nominated. Adagur H Vishwanath, another former JDS leader, who had quit his party and joined BJP but failed to retain his seat has also caught the attention of the people. Further, Governor Vala has nominated Talwar Sabanna and Bharathi Shetty to the Upper House in the state.