Bommai chairs all-party meet on quota in Karnataka local body polls

Reservation will be as per SC order, final decision later this month
Bommai chairs all-party meet on quota in Karnataka local body polls

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai held an all-party meeting that unanimously decided to hold elections for local bodies, after providing reservation for Backward Classes. The meeting was convened to discuss making provision for reservation for Backward Classes in elections for urban and rural local bodies.

Speaking to media persons after chairing the all-party meeting, Bommai said they will identify political backwardness among backward classes, after which a commission will be constituted. He said reservation will be done as per the Supreme Court order, and that they will convene another meeting by March-end and take a final decision. Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah will also attend the meeting.

Further, Bommai said they have the option of conducting elections after constituting a Commission and getting its report, or to file a review petition in the Supreme Court. “It is impossible to hold elections without reservation for Backward Classes,” he added.

At the meeting, they also discussed increasing reservation for STs to 7.5 per cent, in accordance with the demand of the community. According to Bommai, the ST population has increased. “The previous government had constituted the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission which had submitted its report to BS Yediyurappa when he was chief minister. The Commission had recommended increasing the SC, ST reservation quota,” Bommai said.

“We have decided to deliver social justice for these communities by increasing their reservation quota in the backdrop of the Justice Nagamohan Das report, judgments in Maharashtra’s Jayashree Patil case, Indira Sahney case and also getting an interim report from Justice Subash Adi,” Bommai added.

Speaking on the demand from the Kuruba community, which belongs to Category 2A, for inclusion into the ST list, and some 3B Category communities want to be included into 2A Category, the CM said there is the issue of a 50 per cent ceiling on quota, which they will study.

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