Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the sole aim of his government is to render justice to the SC/ST communities.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. (Twitter)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said the sole aim of his government is to render justice to the SC/ST communities, and the process of including the quota hike decision in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution has started.
The chief minister was quoted as saying at the inauguration of ‘Janajagruthi Jathra Mahotsav’ organised as part of Sri Maharshi Valmiki Jathra Mahotsav, in Davangere, by his office in a statement on Thursday, 9 February.
“Justice has been done to the oppressed communities as per Justice Nagmohan Das Commission report. While the reservation for the Scheduled Caste (SC) community has been hiked from 15 to 17 percent and for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community it is up from 3 percent to 7 percent. This will benefit the youths of those two communities in jobs and education,” Bommai noted.
Mere speech will not ensure social justice, he said, adding the incumbent government has implemented the hiked quota and it is being followed in government recruitment.
The bill was passed unanimously by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly session held in Belagavi on 26 December.
While introducing the bill in the Assembly, the Bommai-led Karnataka government assured that it would appeal to the Union government to include the proposed legislation in the 9th Scheduled of the Constitution to ensure legal protection.
The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in Services under the State) Bill, 2022, will be forwarded to the Legislative Council for its consent.
“The government took the risk in promulgating the ordinance even after knowing that the 50 percent reservation ceiling in the state,” Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs JC Madhuswamy said after the bill was passed.
“There was also severe pressure on the government for the implementation of the Nagamohan Das and Subhash Adi commission reports, which have recommended a quota hike of SC/ST communities,” he told the House.
The minister also pointed out that initially there were only six castes under the SC category.
“The number of SCs has now gone to 101. Several of these castes fall under the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and other categories in other states. There are also 53 different castes included in ST.”
“We are not giving reservation hike for SC/ST on sympathy. It is their right. We will ensure that this bill is included in the 9th Schedule,” Madhuswamy added.
In 2019, the HD Kumaraswamy-led government in Karnataka had set-up Justice HN Nagamohan Das Commission to conduct a comprehensive study on the socio-economic status of the SCs and STs in the state.
The committee submitted a detailed report in July 2020. Besides pointing out the social and educational backwardness of SC/STs, the Nagamohan Das committee also recommended an increase in reservation quota for them.
(With inputs from PTI)
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