Former Karnataka chief minister and Congress Working Committee member Siddaramaiah on Tuesday condemned the BJP for a hurried increase in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe reservations after the Karnataka High Court nullified the amendment.
The court’s order struck down the state’s decision to lift the SC quota from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and the ST quota from three per cent to seven per cent, a move the BJP had announced ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
While Siddaramaiah said he respected the judiciary, he argued that the BJP had ignored the Supreme Court’s Indra Sawhney ruling, which caps total reservations at 50 per cent. He questioned whether electoral advantage outweighed the need for constitutional safeguards.
He recalled that the Justice Nagamohan Das Committee, set up during the previous Congress administration, had laid the groundwork for any quota revision. Siddaramaiah stressed that the demand for higher reservations stemmed from decades of struggle by marginalized communities, not from political generosity.
The former chief minister also criticised the BJP‑led Union government for dismissing Karnataka’s request to place the enhanced quota in the Ninth Schedule, citing the pending court case as a reason. He urged the Centre to propose a clear constitutional remedy to protect the increased percentages.
Emphasising the importance of representation for AHINDA groups—minorities, backward classes and Dalits—Siddaramaiah warned that any compromise on reservation benefits would undermine social integration. He reiterated that reservation is a constitutional tool, not charity, meant to correct historic injustices.
Calling for the Ninth Schedule inclusion and a proportional rise in reservations based on population, Siddaramaiah appealed to the state government to pursue legal steps that would retain the higher quotas and safeguard the interests of students and job seekers affected by the court’s verdict. He concluded that genuine social justice requires sustained political commitment, constitutional responsibility and lasting reforms.
Image: Wikipedia — Siddaramaiah
📰 Source: Mangalorean News