Bengaluru, May 12 (IANS) Former Karnataka Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai said on Tuesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to launch a public awareness campaign across the state against the Congress-led state government’s alleged rollback of the enhanced reservation provided to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) during the previous BJP government.
Addressing the media after a meeting with BJP SC/ST leaders at his residence in Bengaluru, Bommai accused the state government of doing a “great injustice” to SC, ST and OBC communities.
He said that BJP leaders, including State party President B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, former Deputy Chief Minister and MP Govind Karjol and BJP MLC N. Ravikumar, had decided to create awareness among the public regarding the issue.
He alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who claims to practice politics in the name of AHINDA, was now acting against the very communities that had supported him politically.
Referring to the issue of internal reservation among SC and ST communities, Bommai said the Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had granted powers to state governments to implement internal reservation and said that states such as Telangana and Haryana had already implemented it.
He alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka and Dalit leaders within the party lacked interest in implementing internal reservation.
Bommai said the Nagamohan Das Commission report on reservation enhancement was submitted during the tenure of the coalition government and that, during his tenure as the Chief Minister, reservation for SC communities was increased from 15 per cent to 17 per cent, while reservation for ST communities was raised from three per cent to seven per cent.
He added that the enhanced reservation had benefited SC/ST students significantly.
“Nearly 4,000 additional engineering seats and around 400 additional medical seats became available due to the increased reservation. The Supreme Court order has been in force for the past four years,” he said.
Bommai accused the Congress government of creating confusion by not properly implementing the Supreme Court order, the Nagamohan Das report and the J.C. Madhuswamy Committee report.
He alleged that while the state government had told the court that it would implement 15 per cent reservation, it had simultaneously passed legislation during the Belagavi session fixing SC/ST reservation at 17 per cent and seven per cent.
“On one hand, they passed a law fixing reservation at 17 per cent and 7 per cent, while on the other hand they are implementing 15 per cent and three per cent reservation. Dalit communities should understand this contradiction,” he said.
He also added that discussions were held regarding the possibility of including the enhanced reservation under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
However, Bommai alleged that the state government was attempting to use the Ninth Schedule issue to cover up its mistakes.
“Even if a law is placed under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, it can still be challenged. The state government is trying to divert attention from its failures by exerting pressure regarding the Ninth Schedule,” he said.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, BJP MP Govind Karjol, BJP MLC N. Ravikumar and former Minister N. Mahesh were present during the meeting.
In another development, a delegation of leaders and seers from the Valmiki community in Karnataka, led by former Lok Sabha member V.S. Ugrappa, met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his official residence Krishna on Tuesday and held discussions regarding reservation issues.
The delegation submitted a memorandum urging the state government to take steps to include the law enhancing reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
The delegation said that the reservation quota for Scheduled Castes had been increased from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for Scheduled Tribes from three per cent to seven per cent, thereby taking the total reservation in the state to 56 per cent.
The memorandum was submitted under the banner of the Karnataka State Valmiki Samaj Saman Manaskara Vedike, led by former Lok Sabha member V.S. Ugrappa.
–IANS
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