Bengaluru — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is pressing the ruling Congress government in Karnataka to implement internal reservation policies among Scheduled Castes (SCs), as previously recommended by the former BJP administration. Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra announced on Tuesday that a delegation of party leaders would soon meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to discuss the adoption of these recommendations.
Vijayendra emphasized that the recommendations made by the former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s government regarding internal reservations should be implemented in their entirety by the current Congress administration. “After discussions with all relevant parties, the previous Basavaraj Bommai government had recommended internal reservation to the central government. The Congress government in the state should implement it as it is,” Vijayendra stated after a party leaders’ meeting focused on this issue.
The BJP delegation aims to present a detailed case to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging the swift adoption of the internal reservation framework. The recommendations include a six percent internal quota for SC (Left), 5.5 percent for SC (Right), 4.5 percent for “touchables” such as Banjara, Bhovi, Korcha, and Kuruma communities, and one percent for other groups.
This push for internal reservation comes in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court verdict on August 1, which upheld the constitutional authority of states to create sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes for reservation purposes. The seven-judge bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, overturned the 2004 EV Chinnaiah vs. State of Andhra Pradesh decision that had deemed SCs as a homogeneous class, thereby allowing for more nuanced reservation policies to aid socially and educationally backward sub-groups.
The previous BJP government’s initiative on internal reservations was part of its strategy to ensure more targeted upliftment of marginalized communities within the SC category. As Karnataka navigates its political landscape ahead of upcoming assembly polls, the BJP’s call for implementing these recommendations highlights the ongoing debate over reservation policies and their role in fostering social equity.
The Congress party, however, has yet to respond publicly to the BJP’s latest demand. The implementation of internal reservations remains a contentious issue, reflecting broader national discussions on the effectiveness and fairness of India’s reservation system.
