Karnataka CM slams Central govt over internal reservation for SCs

BENGALURU: Lashing out at the BJP-led Union government, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that a high-level committee formed to review the internal reservation for Scheduled Castes is "nothing more than a ploy to mislead" the Dalit community.

In a statement issued here, the CM said, "The Central Government has formed a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary to review the internal reservation for Scheduled Castes. This seems to be nothing more than a ploy to mislead the Dalit community, as it is clear that the BJP has no genuine concern behind it".

The Justice Usha Mehra Commission, also constituted by the Central Government for the same purpose, had concluded that sub-categorization of Scheduled Castes and providing internal reservation is the only solution through a constitutional amendment, CM said.

"The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, which had studied the sub-categorization of Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh, had expressed the same opinion. Then, what is the need for another high-level committee? This appears to be merely a tactic to waste time."

"If the Central Government truly intends to fulfil the demands for internal reservation for Scheduled Castes, it should present a bill to amend Section 341 of the Constitution in Parliament, get it approved, and implement the reservation quickly. No matter how many high-level committees are formed, they cannot make recommendations beyond the constitutional provisions. According to Sections 341(1) and (2) of the Constitution, any addition or removal of castes from the Scheduled Castes list requires a constitutional amendment, a simple truth known to those with basic knowledge of the Constitution," read the statement.

Lashing out at the state BJP leadership, the CM said in his statement, "BJP leaders in the state are speaking with double standards as usual. After the responsibility of fulfilling the demands for internal reservation for Scheduled Castes has fallen on their shoulders, the BJP leaders, confused and anxious, are giving random statements, exposing their ignorance."

"Former Minister Govind Karjol, a senior Dalit leader who claims to be a follower of Babasaheb Ambedkar, attempting to twist the Constitution is regrettable. The fact that he is spreading misinformation is not due to his ignorance, but because he is following the lines dictated by the RSS, which is anti-Dalit," as per the statement.

The CM said that former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that our government should have implemented the Sadashiva Commission report.

"He seems to have forgotten that he was the Chief Minister of the state for three and a half years. But the people of the state remember. Those who are now pressuring us--why didn't they accept and implement the Sadashiva Commission report when they were in power? They had also formed another committee to study the same matter and rejected the Sadashiva Commission report, which was under their own government's leadership."

The CM alleged that the state BJP leadership is making false accusations against them with "political malice."

"State BJP leaders are making false accusations against us with political malice, wasting time instead of pressuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to amend Section 341 of the Constitution and fulfil the decades-old demand for internal reservation for Scheduled Castes."