Decision on quota after interim report, CM Bommai tells Assembly

Bommai was responding to demands from a section of lawmakers in the Assembly on increasing the reservation to the ST community from 3% to 7.5%

The Justice Subhash Adi committee is expected to submit an interim report in ten days' time after which the state government will take a call on the reservation demands of various communities, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday.

Bommai was responding to demands from a section of lawmakers in the Assembly on increasing the reservation to the ST community from 3 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

The MLAs said the ST community's seer Prasannananda Swami is protesting at Freedom Park for the last 49 days demanding a hike in reservation and they asked the government to decide soon.

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"Once the interim report is out, we will hold an all-party meeting to come up with ideas on how Karnataka's case can be represented for an increase in the reservation," Bommai said, urging the seer to call off his protest.

"I have also spoken to the Advocate General to see how the Indra Sawhney judgment can be referred to make our case for increased reservation," he added.

"The Constitution mandates that there has to be reserved for the SC, ST communities as per their population. The government is committed to ensuring this," Bommai said.

At present, Karnataka provides 32 per cent reservation for OBCs, 15 per cent for SCs and 3 per cent for STs, totalling 50 per cent.

"We have already touched the 50 per cent limit for reservation. This has to be increased. This will have to be done within the legal framework," Bommai said.

In July 2020, the Justice H N Nagmohan Das Commission submitted its report to the government recommending hiking the quota for SCs from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for STs from 3 per cent to 7.5 per cent. Lawmakers belonging to the Valmiki (ST) community are mounting pressure on the government to act on this report.

But, the government formed the Justice Adi committee last year after many other communities intensified their quota demands.

The committee's task is to examine whether or not the Panchamasali Lingayats can be included under Category 2A, indicate how the Justice Das Commission report on SC/STs can be implemented, recommend how Kurubas can be included under the ST list and prescribe how Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas can be included in the central OBC list.

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