Former prime minister and JD(S) national president H D Deve Gowda on Sunday said the reservation formula needs to be reviewed at  regular intervals to make it more practical and to provide equal opportunity for the backward classes.
Participating in a seminar on “Backward class problems in Karnataka” organised by the Karnataka Joint Action Committee of BC, Dalits and Minorities, Mr Gowda reiterated the need of reviewing the present formula and said providing internal reservation had become necessary as only one or two castes were getting 80 per cent benefit from the reservation in certain categories of backward classes.
“There are 101 castes under reservation category IIA but 80 per cent of the benefit of reservation in government jobs have been secured by only one or two communities,” he said without naming the castes.
Mr Gowda said the objective of the present reservation formula, which has been in force since a decade in the State, was to identify the forward class people among the backward communities and to see that the opportunities are not denied to those who remained backward. “There is a need for providing internal reservation as socially backward people were being pushed further backwards within the backward communities,” he pointed out. He was hopeful that the present JD(S) and BJP coalition government would take necessary action to provide internal-reservation among backward classes. He, however, made it clear that one need to fight for reservation if the government failed in this aspect.
Schemes
Meanwhile, talking to reporters JD(S) legislator Y S V Datta said that if the present coalition government failed to provide internal reservation, the party would be constrained to project internal reservation as one of its schemes in the election manifesto during 2009 general elections.
Referring to by-election to Ullal assembly constituency, Mr Datta said the party has not taken the election lightly. Both Mr Gowda and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy along other leaders would campaign in the constituency.