Bengaluru, Apr 5 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday reaffirmed his government’s committment to providing internal reservation among Scheduled Castes (SC), and emphasised that there should be no doubts about it.
He said Justice H N Nagmohan Das Commission has been given two months to conduct the survey, following which internal reservation will be implemented by ensuring no injustice is done to anyone.
“There should be no doubt about internal reservation. We will implement it. Even if you say no, we will implement it. We will definitely follow the Supreme Court order.” Speaking at the event to mark the 118th birth anniversary of Dr Babu Jagjivan Ram, he said, “Justice Nagamohan Das has asked for a two-month time. We have given it. Will implement it by ensuring that no injustice is done to any one.” On March 27, the Karnataka cabinet approved a survey of SCs in the state, following the acceptance of the interim report by Justice Nagmohan Das Commission. The survey will help determine the implementation of internal reservation among SCs.
The one-man commission of the retired High Court judge has been tasked with overseeing the survey and gathering empirical data. A timeline of 60 days has been set to complete the process and submit the report to the government.
A section of SCs, like ‘SC Left’, has been demanding internal reservation, alleging that only a few influential sub-castes were taking away a majority of the benefits, while many communities were still marginalised.
The internal reservation is aimed at slicing up the 17 per cent reservation matrix given to 101 scheduled castes.
The government, in November last year, had appointed Nagmohan Das to head a commission to recommend internal reservation among SCs, after the Supreme Court last year allowed the states to provide internal reservation, and the state cabinet agreed to implement internal reservation.
In a landmark verdict delivered by the Supreme Court on August 1 last year, it held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the SCs, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward.
In his address, Siddaramaiah opined that reservation is here to stay, as it is unlikely to be opposed in today’s age.
“No one says reservation should go, because everybody has taken its benefit,” he said.
“After Narendra Modi became the prime minister, he gave 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker (ESW) sections. That means everybody gets a reservation. No one opposes reservation now. Even those who opposed it have benefitted,” he added. PTI KSU ROH
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