The minister, a Dalit, told a press conference here that he would join any agitation launched by the SCs and STs for the same.

He said that only a separate state could end the oppression faced by the two, and it would also be in line with the thinking of Dalit heroes like B R Ambedkar and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule. Mareppa also took on bureaucrats and the Anti-Corruption Bureau, saying that the ACB was targeting lower level officials, mostly from weaker sections of society, and foisting corruption cases on them while allowing the “big fish” to escape.

“About 50 per cent of the IAS and IPS officers are against SC employees,” the marketing minister alleged. “They are harassing them and organising raids on them to spoil their chances of promotion.”

Charging the IAS officials with disobeying the CM himself, he blamed them for not implementing the reservations in government jobs.