SC/ST quota hike: Karnataka Cong to hold ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ over delay in inclusion under Schedule 9

“The BJP has cheated the Dalit community. We will protest this in front of Raj Bhavan,” he said.

Shivakumar said, “The Central government said that they have not received any proposal (from the state). When there is no proposal, it is clear that the BJP has cheated the Dalit community.”

The Karnataka government had decided to hike the reservation for the SC communities from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for the ST communities from three per cent to seven per cent in October 2022. An ordinance was also promulgated in the same month and the state legislature had passed a Bill to effect the same during the winter session of legislature in December 2022.

The hike had taken the total quantum of reservation offered in Karnataka to 56 per cent. Bommai had said that the decision would be assured of legal protection if the hike was included under Schedule 9 of the Constitution.

“The Parliament is in session. Why hasn’t the BJP government moved an amendment to include (the enhanced reservation) in the ninth schedule?” Shivakumar asked. State Congress leaders will meet the Governor and urge him to dissolve the Bommai government, the KPCC chief said.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, however, said that the state government is committed to provide benefits to the communities as per the recent state government decision and Congress does not have any “moral or political right” to talk about the issue.

Bommai, meanwhile, brushed aside Congress criticism saying the party had done nothing about the issue when they were in power. “They don’t have any moral or political right to talk about this,” he said.

The tussle between the Opposition and the government comes even as the state government is planning to pacify the Panchamasalis — a sub-sect of Lingayats — who have stuck to their demand of reservation under the 2A category, maintaining that the reservation carved out to them under the 2D category in December 2022 was inadequate for the community. Panchamasalis have been protesting for over two months over the issue.

The Karnataka government has passed a law and issued a government order on the hiked reservations. “We have already started the process to include it in Schedule 9 of the Constitution. We have sought advice from the Law Department and the Attorney General. The process is on. We will send the proposal (to the Centre) soon,” the CM added.