BJP is anti-reservation, says Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah was referring to an ordinance promulgated by the BJP government hiking reservation for SCs from 15% to 17% and for STs from 3% to 7%

Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the government’s decision to increase quota for SC/STs lacked legal protection, accusing the BJP of being “anti-reservation”.

Siddaramaiah was referring to an ordinance promulgated by the BJP government hiking reservation for SCs from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for STs from 3 per cent to 7 per cent.

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“Is there legal or constitutional protection for this? Have they brought it under the 9th Schedule? I demand they mount pressure on the union government to have it included in the 9th Schedule,” Siddaramaiah told a news conference.

The Congress leader pointed out that the Justice HN Nagamohan Das Commission gave its report recommending the quota hike in July 2020. “In every Assembly session, our MLAs protested. Did one SC/ST MLA from the BJP protest? They dragged the issue unnecessarily. The ordinance could have been promulgated earlier,” he said.

Slamming the BJP over its OBC rally in Kalaburagi on October 30, Siddaramaiah said the saffron party managed to mobilise only 40,000-50,000 people against its claim of five lakh.

“When OBCs got reservation in higher learning, who opposed it? The same Ananthkumar, BS Yediyurappa and KS Eshwarappa,” Siddaramaiah, who belongs to the backward Kuruba community, said. “

The former chief minister said BJP leaders opposed the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution that gave reservations to OBCs and women in local bodies.

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“Rama Jois, the then-BJP vice-president and Rajya Sabha member, went to the Supreme Court. Why wasn’t he prevented from doing so?” Siddaramaiah said. “Show me one instance where BJP fought in favour of reservation for backward classes since Independence,” he dared.

Siddaramaiah recalled that the government he headed had recommended to the union government to bring the Gonda community (Bidar, Yadgir and Kalaburagi) and Kurubas of Kodagu under the ST list. “It’s been eight years since Modi became PM. Why hasn’t he included these communities under the ST list?”

Picking holes in the 10 per cent EWS reservation, Siddaramaiah said the move was not in line with the Constitution. “Modi gave 10 per cent EWS quota suo motu. Was there a demand for it? It’s against Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution that talk about reservation only for those who are socially and educationally backward. There’s no provision for reservation for economic backwardness. Still, the quota was given for the poor among the upper castes,” he said.