Karnataka government unlikely to table EWS quota bill in current Assembly session

Soon after the Supreme Court upheld a 2019 constitutional amendment to provide a 10 per cent quota for the EWS excluding those among the socially backward castes and classes already entitled to reservation, state law minister J C Madhuswamy last month indicated that the BJP government would introduce a law to provide the quota in the state soon. The amendment was carried out in 2019 by the BJP-led central government.

However, with state elections barely five months away, the BJP is concerned that providing a 10 per cent EWS quota for the prominent castes could antagonise the backward classes and scheduled castes, who constitute over 50 per cent of the state’s population.

The ruling party is set to introduce a bill to increase the quotas for scheduled castes from 15 to 17 per cent and for scheduled tribes from 3 to 7 per cent. “A bill to replace the SC/ST reservation ordinance will be introduced in the session of the state legislature being held at the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi,” Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

The government is besieged by demands from various caste groups for increased quotas in jobs and education. The recent increases in the SC and ST quotas have taken total reservation in the state to 56 per cent, which is beyond the 50 per cent ceiling imposed by the Supreme Court.
Although there have been no political protests over the EWS quota in the state, dominant caste groups like Vokkaligas and Lingayats, and Dalits have warned the government against bringing in an additional quota without addressing their demands first.

The Vokkaliga Sangha has set a January 2023 deadline to increase reservation for the community from four per cent to 12 per cent under an OBC category while the Panchamasali Lingayats, a subsect of the dominant Lingayats, are seeking immediate inclusion under the 2A category for the OBC, which would provide the community access to a 15 per cent OBC quota, up from the current 5 per cent quota.

The Vokkaliga Sangha has urged the government not to implement the EWS quota until members of the community are provided enhanced reservation. And the Panchamasalis, whose demand for inclusion in the 2A OBC category has been stalled by legal, administrative and political hurdles, have threatened to disrupt the Belagavi legislature session if their demands are not fulfilled.

Bommai has said that a decision on providing quotas for Panchamasalis and other castes demanding OBC or ST reservation could be made only after the state backward classes commission completes its study on the socioeconomic status of various communities. “Reservations will be provided only after scientific studies. It would have a meaning only after a study,” Bommai said in September.

Several Congress leaders have gained a toehold among the Panchamasali Lingayats by supporting their agitation.

The BJP government received some breathing space on the issue of reservation for Panchamasalis in August, when the high court stayed an evaluation of the backwardness of the community by a commission headed by a judge.

A government order has so far been issued for EWS reservations but it refers only to central institutions.

“A discussion has been going on for the introduction of a bill to implement the EWS quota in Karnataka also. Now that the court has upheld the constitutional amendment for 10 per cent reservation for EWS, there should not be any opposition,” said a senior official in the backward class commission, adding, however, “What the central government has done is that those castes that are not included in the central OBC list or the SC/ST list have been given the benefit of the EWS reservation. We do not know how they are planning to implement it here in Karnataka.”

“Earlier, there was only social and educational backwardness but now economic criteria have been added. There has been no strong political reaction from any corner to the EWS quota. It could still, however, be raised during the election to corner the government,” the official said.