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The Karnataka Cabinet on Saturday unanimously agreed to hike reservation for the Scheduled Castes from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for Scheduled Tribes from 3 per cent to 7 per cent in the State and the State government will issue a gazette notification in this regard.
"The State government will take necessary action to review Justice Sadashiva Commission report on providing internal reservation for deprived communities in SC/ST and it has been decided to constitute a separate Corporation for the SC/ST nomad communities," said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. To give legal protection to this decision, it was decided to include it in Schedule 9 of the Constitution and to consult the Legal Minister, Law Commission, constitutional experts and advocate general regarding its implementation. "There are questions whether it will get legal protection as the total reservation has crossed 50 per cent. But it has been defined in the Indira Sahani case that reservation can be provided to the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe as a special case in order to bring them to the mainstream socially and academically," Bommai added. He said that both Justice Nagamohan Das and Justice Subhas B Adi have clearly mentioned in their reports that it will be a special case. "They have opined that reservation must be on the basis of population and statistics have shown that the communities are away from the mainstream and adequate representation has not been provided for all these years. So, this can be said as a special case," he added. The reservation for ST and ST has crossed 50 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu and so far no court verdict has come against this. The Government of India has amended the Constitution and issued orders to give 10 per cent reservation for the economically backward people and this has crossed 50 per cent quota. This has been questioned in the Supreme Court but no adverse verdict has come so far. The government will discuss with legal experts to do everything to get legal protection for decisions under Schedule 9 of the constitution. "We want to raise reservation for SC/ST and we are at it. With all necessary information it will be included in the gazette notification and to include it in Schedule 9," the chief minister said. Replying to a question, he said the government will take necessary decisions while giving reservations for the Panchamasali community. Talking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting here on Saturday, he said, "Justice Nagamohan Das Commission report has opined that the benefits of reservation has not reached the grassroots communities and steps can be taken to provide justice for them after studying all legal aspects and consulting experts." "The important recommendations of the report on internal reservation submitted by Justice Sadashiva Commission will be tabled in the Cabinet and take necessary action. Before that the communities which may be impacted by internal reservation will be taken into confidence in order to protect the interest of all castes among the Scheduled Castes," he added. (ANI)
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