Ahead of Karnataka polls, BJP tries to make the most of Assembly Winter Session

The Winter Session began on a stormy note with a controversy triggered by the unveiling of a painting of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar. It sparked criticism from the Congress, but from then on the session proceeded smoothly.

During the session, the Assembly passed the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or posts in the services under the state) Bill to increase the quantum of reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) groups from 15 per cent to 17 per cent, and for Scheduled Tribe (ST) groups from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. The legislation ensured legal backing for the hike that was first announced as an ordinance in October. But the state currently faces another hurdle as with these it has breached the 50 per cent cap on reservations.

The government also finalised special reservation categories for Vokkaligas and Linagayats in a Cabinet meeting held on the last day of the session. The Bommai administration also decided to satisfy the demands of the Panchamasali Lingayat sub-group that is seeking reservation under the 2A category by creating a new 2D category for it. The community staged a massive protest on December 23 demanding the same. An interim report of the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission was incidentally tabled on the same day, which recommended creating separate quotas for Vokkaligas and Lingayats.

The Belagavi border dispute was also widely discussed. A resolution passed by both Houses of the legislature declared that the government would take measures to protect its territory. It also condemned the ”Maharashtra government for stirring up a border dispute”.

The Maharashtra Assembly, which was in session during the same time, also passed a resolution saying it would “legally pursue the inclusion of 865 Marathi-speaking villages of Karnataka into the state”.

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s suggestion that Belagavi, Karwar and Nippani – the border areas between the two states – should be declared a part of a Union Territory was not received well in the Karnataka Assembly. Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister JC Madhuswamy hit back saying Mumbai should be declared a Union Territory.

On the last day of the session, Bommai promised to take up the Kalasa-Banduri project, a dam to divert water from the Mhadei basin to the deficit basin of the Malaprabha river. The project was delayed for decades due to a legal dispute and would now be implemented at the earliest, Bommai said. The decision may give some momentum to the BJP in the districts of the Kittur Karnataka – areas that belonged to the Mumbai state before linguistic reorganisation – ahead of the polls.

Among the incidents that embarrassed the government was the walkout staged by a few BJP members of the Legislative Council demanding that the New Pension Scheme be scrapped and the Old Pension Scheme be brought back.

Higher Education Minister CN Ashwath Narayan was put under the scanner by the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) for pushing to clear Bills on setting up six private universities. The Bills were tabled on the last day of the session but had not undergone legal scrutiny or obtained Cabinet clearance. The Bills were withdrawn after criticism from not just the Opposition but also BJP MLAs.

Apart from voter data theft allegations, a special discussion on the demands of the north Karnataka region, which has been a feature of the Belagavi session, was not held because of lack of time. Though the session was supposed to be held till December 30, it wrapped up a day early. This led the Congress to launch a salvo against the government. It accused the BJP of truncating the session so that state ministers could attend Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally in Mandya.