Internal reservation: K’taka BJP slams CM Siddaramaiah, calls him ‘master deceiver’

Bengaluru, April 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) Launching a scathing attack on Congress-led state government over the announcement of distribution of internal reservation, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders hailing from Dalit and oppressed communities on Saturday held a press conference here, saying that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is a "master deceiver".

Opposition leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MP Govind Karjol, Legislative Council Opposition Leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former Union Minister A. Narayanaswamy, State BJP General Secretary P. Rajeev, State BJP Vice-President and former Minister N. Mahesh, BJP MLA Manappa D. Vajjal, and State BJP spokesperson H. Venkatesh Doddere addressed the press conference jointly at the state BJP office -- Jagannath Bhavan in Bengaluru.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MP Govind Karjol has criticised the Karnataka government's decision on internal reservation, comparing it to "digging a mountain only to find a mouse", and questioned the basis of the move.

Karjol went on to sharply attack Siddaramaiah, calling him a "master deceiver".

He alleged that misleading the people, particularly the poor, and projecting himself as a leader of AHINDA communities for political gain was his primary objective.

He claimed that Siddaramaiah's actions to retain power suggested a level of deception unmatched elsewhere.

Karjol asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah whether the report submitted by Justice Nagamohan Das, whom he himself had appointed, was rejected for being "unscientific".

He demanded clarity on whether the report prepared by Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh had instead been accepted as scientific.

He said that the Nagamohan Das report had recommended 17 per cent reservation, and asked why it was not implemented, even though it could have been limited to 15 per cent.

The BJP leader accused the Chief Minister of "self-congratulation" over the internal reservation issue.

Karjol also questioned Siddaramaiah's repeated claims of social justice and equitable distribution, asking whether such statements were merely rhetorical.

He asked whether the Chief Minister had any real commitment towards AHINDA communities.

If there was commitment, Karjol said, then why were multiple reports commissioned at great expense being sidelined.

He alleged that the Kemparaj report had been shelved, followed by the Jayaprakash Hegde report, and that the Madhusudhan Naik report had not been made public by the state government.

He also referred to a recent remark by Karnataka Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi, who had described Siddaramaiah as a "compromised politician", and asked the Chief Minister to clarify whether that statement was true.

He added that former Minister K.N. Rajanna had also questioned Siddaramaiah's commitment.

Karjol urged that commissions appointed by the current state government should not be readily accepted, alleging that they risked being disregarded.

He said that the state government's decision on reservation could not be accepted by anyone, and criticised it for ignoring multiple reports, including the Sadashivaiah report, the Nagamohan Das report, and the Cabinet sub-committee report under former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, as well as Supreme Court directions.

He termed the decision as arbitrary and accused the state government of favouring select groups.

Defending the previous BJP-led state government's actions, Karjol said reservation had been increased to 17 per cent based on scientific considerations, drawing from a report by the then Law Minister Madhuswamy.

He said the distribution had been fixed at six per cent for Category A, 5.5 per cent for Category B, 4.5 per cent for certain communities, and one per cent for nomadic groups.

He recalled that in the 2013 election manifesto, Siddaramaiah had promised to implement internal reservation if voted to power.

However, he alleged that instead of acting over the report, the Chief Minister allowed unrest among people while remaining inactive.

Karjol also claimed that after the Congress' defeat in 2018, Siddaramaiah had reported to Sonia Gandhi that the loss was due to not implementing internal reservation, particularly leading to lack of support from certain communities.

He added that before the 2023 elections, the Congress had promised to implement internal reservation in the very first Assembly session if elected to power, but failed to do so even after three years.

He also alleged that a previous legislative move to create three categories with allocations such as 6 per cent, 6 per cent, and 5 per cent had been passed and sent for the Governor's approval, but was later left unimplemented.

Accusing the state government of creating divisions among Scheduled Caste sub-groups, Karjol said the intention appeared to be to trigger legal challenges and later claim that the policy could not stand in court.

He urged Siddaramaiah to stop what he described as "deceptive politics".

Source: IANS