Bengaluru, Sep 6 Former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai has criticised the Karnataka government, alleging that it has compromised politically on the issue of internal reservation by adopting the 6-6-5 formula and leaving it at that.
Speaking at a Press conference at the BJP state office, Jagannath Bhavan in Bengaluru on Saturday, he said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah must show political will and deliver justice to the most marginalised communities. “The confusion must be cleared. Otherwise, you will earn the disrepute of internal squabbles within the SC category and pitting one sub-caste against other,” he warned.
“You have accepted today what the BJP-led government had implemented earlier. Having opposed it then, will you now withdraw your earlier words and seek an apology from these communities?” he asked.
“Will you increase the reservation by even one per cent over 17 per cent and make an effort to give justice to all?” he further questioned.
“If the decision was to be taken politically, then why were all these commissions formed?” he asked.
Bommai said the Justice Nagamohan Das Committee report was kept pending for two to three weeks before the Cabinet finally took a decision, and its recommendations were thrown to the wind. Similarly, the Sadashiva Commission’s report on internal reservation was discarded, and even Madhuswamy’s report was ignored.
“This is unconstitutional. You have not considered the reports of three commissions, nor respected the Supreme Court’s decisions. All this has been done for political gain and vote bank security,” Bommai alleged.
He accused CM Siddaramaiah of having done injustice to all communities by failing to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict meant to ensure social justice.
“The allocation is not in proportion to the population. Communities like Adi Dravida and Adi Karnataka should have been categorised separately. AK, AD, and AA do not belong to any specific sub-group, and there is no clarity in the government’s order. The order should have been issued with both social justice and common sense in mind. Instead, the communities have been left in confusion,” Bommai said.
He also pointed out that nomadic communities, who live at the very bottom of the ladder, have been left out of reservations altogether.
“No one is satisfied. Even those on the favoured side are unhappy. The Lanchaani and Bovi communities were given an additional 0.5 per cent and 59 other castes have been added. The only answer we are getting from the government is ‘Go to court’,” he remarked.
Bommai stated that during the freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi’s vision was that every community must take part. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, meanwhile, was thinking about the future of the most oppressed communities.
"A week-long discussion was held in Pune Jail between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar. Based on Gandhi ji’s assurances, Dalit communities who had been most oppressed participated wholeheartedly in the freedom struggle, giving it completeness," he said.
“These very issues were brought forward while drafting the Constitution. Initially, six communities from Karnataka were included in the SC list. Today, that number has risen to 101. The Congress party has enjoyed the fruits of the freedom struggle, but instead of implementing Dr Ambedkar’s vision, they have focussed on securing their own political standing,” he alleged.
The Constitution clearly mentions that SC and ST communities must be given reservation. Bommai said the Congress ruled Karnataka for 55–60 years. “They kept adding communities to the SC list, but when the population increased, they never considered increasing the reservation quota,” he criticised.
“The SC category which had six castes now has 101 castes. The percentage of reservation has not increased. This has caused dissatisfaction within the communities and led to repeated protests. The demand for internal reservation first rose from neighboring Andhra Pradesh and then gained voice in Karnataka as well. During the coalition government, the Nagamohan Das Committee was formed. It was only because of pressure from BJP CM Yediyurappa that we obtained the report. The committee recommended increasing SC reservation from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and raising ST reservation from 3 per cent to 7 per cent,” Bommai explained.
“When I was Chief Minister in 2022, despite opposition from many quarters, I implemented the recommendations. Many had warned me that it was like poking a beehive. I said, ‘Let the bees sting me, but let the community at least taste a drop of honey’”, he professed.
“Back then, Siddaramaiah went around the state saying it was not legally valid. Yet today he has accepted the very same decision,” Bommai charged.
“We sent our decision to the Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is committed to social justice, is not one to simply shout and run around like these people. He constituted a permanent backward classes commission. The UPA government never did such things, nor did CM Siddaramaiah make any recommendations,” Bommai said.
“For Siddaramaiah, whatever Modi does is unacceptable,” he alleged.
“Later, the Supreme Court gave its verdict, clearly stating that any increase in reservation must be based on caste surveys, backwardness within communities, and by ensuring that equals and unequals are not placed in the same category,” Bommai said. “Once again, the Nagamohan Das Committee was set up and has submitted its report,” he added.
MP Govind Karjol, Legislative Council Opposition Leader Chalawadi Narayanaswamy, former Union Minister A. Narayanaswamy, and BJP State General Secretary P. Rajeev were also present.
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