Karnataka Congress govt okays internal reservation for SCs; forms 1-man commission

Until the recommendations of the commission are out, Karnataka will not issue notifications for fresh recruitment in government jobs, the minister said.

The internal reservation is based on a Supreme Court judgment. Karnataka will study the terms of reference issued in Telangana for a similar commission to assess the various parameters required to provide internal reservation for SC communities. Earlier this year (prior to the SC order on internal quotas), the Congress government had argued that internal reservation was only possible if the Centre amended Article 341(3) of the Constitution.

During the briefing, Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa said the fresh commission was instituted as the erstwhile BJP government had rejected the Justice A J Sadashiva Commission report in 2022. The one-man commission will have to either refer to national census data for internal reservation or compile data on its own. “Right now, the Census has no data on internal reservation,” he said.

This has put the spotlight back on the socio-economic and educational survey of the state government, which had compiled data of various communities in the state. The report is to be discussed by the state Cabinet before it is tabled in the state legislature.

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge told the news conference that the Supreme Court had asked for the use of empirical data while granting internal reservation. There are questions on whether “data from the socio-economic and educational survey stand in the court of law…. Can the data be cleared by the state government and whether it will be accepted by the Centre.”

Mahadevappa said that the state government will take all 101 SC communities into confidence before implementing the reservation. The issue was discussed with all communities such as the SC left, SC right, Lambanis, and Bhovis. “They all want an internal reservation, provided it is based on empirical data,” he said.

To a question on the source of empirical data, the Cabinet ministers said that clarity on the same will emerge once the terms of reference for the commission are issued.

Previously, the Sadashiva Commission had recommended distributing the 15 per cent quota reserved for SCs with 6 per cent to SC left, 5 per cent to SC right, 3 per cent to Bhovi, Lambani, Koracha and Korama communities, and one per cent to other SC groups.

In October 2022, the erstwhile BJP government under Basavaraj Bommai increased reservations for SCs in jobs and education from 15 per cent to 17 per cent. In the fag end of its tenure, the erstwhile BJP government had announced internal reservation for SC communities following a Cabinet meeting on March 24, 2023. It granted 6 per cent reservation to the most backward SC ‘left’ group which consists of 29 communities including Madigas, 5.5 per cent to the backward SC ‘right’ which has around 25 communities such as Holeyas, and 4.5 per cent to touchable communities such as Banjaras and Bhovis. Other communities in the SC category were given one per cent reservation.

The announcement was met with protests from members of the Lambani community, who had pelted stones at the residence of BJP Parliamentary Board member and former CM B S Yediyurappa during a demonstration at Shikaripura, Shivamogga district. Angered at the internal reservation announced by the BJP government, they had accused the state of implementing the recommendations of the Sadashiva Commission through the back channel.

The proposed reservation during the BJP tenure was shelved due to legal issues around the changes in the overall reservation system in Karnataka.