JOIN USBreaching 50% cap on quota is inevitable: Karnataka government
Karnataka will convey its stand to the Supreme Court on reservation, Law Minister Basavaraj Bommai told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, making it clear that it was “inevitable” to breach the 50 per cent cap on quota if demands made by various caste groups are to be fulfilled.
Early this week, the Supreme Court said it would ask states for their views on breaching the 50 per cent cap on reservation fixed by a 9-member constitution bench in the Indira Sawhney case.
“The Supreme Court’s latest view is like a beacon in solving the existing problem,” Bommai said in the government’s reply to demands from various communities seeking revision in their quota.
“Unless the court realizes the importance of other communities that are really backward to be considered as backward, nothing can be done. The Indira Sawhney judgment can be superseded only by another full constitution bench,” Bommai said.
The Scheduled Castes have demanded an increase in their state quota from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and the Scheduled Tribes from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. The Kurubas want to be included under ST whereas the Panchamshalis, a sub-sect of the Veerashaiva-Lingayats, want Category 2A status in the state.
“All these demands are inter-linked in that each one will have a bearing on the other,” Bommai said, pointing out that increasing the SC/ST quota as recommended by the Justice Nagmohan Das Commission will take the reservation tally to 56 per cent.
In the M Nagaraj vs State of Karnataka case, Bommai said the SC underlined the need for quantifiable data to show backwardness, inadequacy in representation and how reservation will help in administrative efficiency. “In 1994, Karnataka ordered 73 per cent reservation, which the SC struck down citing the lack of empirical study,” he said.
The government is waiting for a genealogy report on the Kurubas whereas the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes has been asked to look into the Panchamasalis’ demand, Bommai said. “For SC/ST, the Justice Nagmohan Das Commission report has recommended taking the Schedule 9 route,” he said.
All of this will be examined by a 3-member committee that the government has decided to constitute. “Our objective is to make sure the existing reservation is protected while fulfilling the demands made by other communities,” Bommai said.
“I want to tell all communities seeking quota that the government is serious about their demands and we’re trying to bring them under a legal framework,” he said.