BJP morcha: Will protest if Congress blocks Backward Class panel Bill

Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Backward Class Morcha has decided to launch a state-wide agitation if the ruling Congress tried to stop the formation of the Central Backward Class Commission.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, BJP MLC Mr B.J. Puttaswamy, considered a close associate of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, said that the Bill, which was moved in Parliament, was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha. When it came to the Rajya Sabha, the Congress party made sure it was referred to a select committee.

The state Backward Class Commission chairman then alleged that the Bill was aimed at curtailing the powers of states, said Mr Puttaswamy while claiming that the Congress was opposing the bill using the Karnataka government as a tool.

Nowhere in the Bill is it mentioned that the Centre will decide everything pertaining to the functions of the Commission, Mr Puttaswamy said. The Bill even indicates that the state has powers to make its own decisions. But, the Congress is politicising the issue and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Backward Class Morcha will not allow this to happen, he added. Incidentally, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah belongs to the backward Kuruba community.