K’taka govt to approach SC to protect reservation; Parameshwara says no compromise on rights of SCs, STs

Bengaluru, Oct 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said on Monday that the state government has decided to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the High Court order quashing the hike in reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, adding that the government is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of SCs and STs and will not compromise on this issue under any circumstances,

Speaking after inaugurating the Maharshi Valmiki Jayanti and Maharshi Valmiki Award ceremony organised by the Department of Scheduled Tribes Welfare at the Banquet Hall in Vidhana Soudha on Monday, he said the High Court judgment was discussed at length in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

It has been decided that an appeal must be filed in the Supreme Court against this verdict.

He added that the government will hold discussions with legal experts on how to bring it under the 9th Schedule of the Constitution to provide permanent protection. The central government will be urged to include the reservation hike in the 9th Schedule to provide permanent protection.

Admitting that there is confusion in the Department of Scheduled Tribes Welfare, he said that when H. Anjaneya was the minister earlier, funds were liberally granted for community development. When the seers had asked for a Rs 5 crore grant, it was sanctioned.

Now there is a rule that 17 per cent of funds in all departments should be reserved for the development of SC communities. This grant has been used for the development of communities. Under the Ganga Kalyana scheme, borewell facilities have been provided to thousands of beneficiaries, scholarships to students and 162 students have been given the opportunity for higher studies abroad. Many such development programs have been implemented, he stated.

Confusion was created in the Valmiki Development Corporation for political reasons. No one was harmed by this. I myself was the Home Minister at that time. All the money mentioned in connection with the allegation has come back, he said.

He said it was surprising that the High Court had reduced the reservation from 56 per cent to 50 per cent. We have no intention of blaming the judges. But it is not understood on what grounds the reservation increased on the basis of population was cancelled.

Based on the 2011 census, SCs are 17 per cent and STs are 7 per cent. The total population of these communities is about 24.1 per cent. Reservation was increased with the aim of providing reservation in proportion to the population.

In Tamil Nadu, a 69 per cent reservation system has been included in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution. The central government has provided 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). But it raises questions about why, when Karnataka increased the reservation by 6 per cent based on the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, it was cancelled. What does this mean? he questioned.

The BJP government led by Basavaraj Bommai, which came to power, had increased the reservation for Scheduled Tribes to 7 per cent in October 2022. It had also increased the reservation for Scheduled Castes by 3 per cent. Thus, it had issued an order to increase the total reservation to 56 per cent, he noted.

At that time, there was also a BJP government in the state. The BJP-led government was in power at the Centre as well. At that time, the state government should have taken an all-party delegation to the central government and insisted that the decision to increase reservation be included in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution. If that had been done, perhaps the current problem would not have arisen, he underlined.

I will not go on to blame the previous government on this issue. But it has to be said that at that time no effort was made to provide necessary protection for increasing reservation, he said.

The government led by Siddaramaiah has implemented many programs for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Recruitment and educational admission processes have been carried out as per the decision to increase the reservation from 50 per cent to 56 per cent. In such a situation, the High Court verdict has created confusion, Parameshwara said.

Protecting the legitimate rights that should constitutionally accrue to the people of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is the first priority of the government. All necessary legal measures will be taken to protect reservation, he said.

Source: IANS