Belagavi: Putting on show his favourite card of social justice, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday announced the state government’s plans to increase the reservation quota for schedule castes and tribes, backward classes and others to 70 per cent.
Speaking in the Legislative Council, he said the government intends to introduce a bill to amend the existing Act in the next session of legislature. With the population of the SCs/STs, backward classes and minorities increasing over the years there was a need to re-work the current 50 per cent cap on reservation for them, he explained.
He said Karnataka would approach Tamil Nadu, where the quota was increased to 69 per cent, for information and also consult legal and Constitutional experts in this regard. "Our government is committed to giving 70 per cent reservation to these people in admissions in schools and colleges and also in recruitment. We are wedded to the cause of social justice and doing justice to the oppressed classes,” he added.
Pointing out that Tamil Nadu had already given 69 per cent reservation for these sections, he said Karnataka would approach it for information and also consult legal and Constitutional experts in the matter.
“Our government is committed to giving 70 per cent reservation to these people in admissions in schools and colleges and also in recruitment. We are wedded to the cause of social justice and doing justice to the oppressed classes,” he emphasised.
Revealing that the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission was likely to submit its final report on the socio- economic survey of all castes and communities either in December or January, he said it would be placed before both the Houses of the legislature for discussion on increasing the quota for all economically weaker sections of society on the basis of their present population.
In his 45-minutes speech, Mr Siddaramaiah also ripped the opposition BJP apart for its “anti-Dalit” stand, claiming it had always been against the welfare of the oppressed classes. “We are not Hinda but AHINDA. We believe in development of all people no matter which caste they belong to,” he underlined.
Earlier, Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya recalled that the state government had put a 50 per cent cap on reservation for SCs/STs and backward classes in jobs and admission to schools and colleges on the directions of the Supreme Court. Going by the 2011 census, the population of the scheduled castes in the state was 1,04,74,992 and of scheduled tribes, 42,48,987.
Leader of the Opposition, K.S. Eshwarappa urged the state government to amend the Act in the next session of the legislature if it was really interested in upliftment of the oppressed classes and offered all cooperation from the opposition parties in hiking the quota for them.
