BENGALURU: State Congress president DK Shivakumar on Monday alleged that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was responsible for communities fighting each other over the issue of reservation as the latter has opened a can of worms that has caused chaos in Karnataka. He was replying to Bommai’s charges that the Congress is behind the ongoing protests by different communities over the issue of quota across the state.
“We are not causing any riots. All this is a self-inflicted crime committed by the Chief Minister. Did the Vokkaligas and Lingayats ask the government to scrap the quota for Muslims and give it to them? The communities have asked for a hike in quota proportionate to their population.The BJP government is creating confusion ahead of elections,” the Kanakapura MLA alleged.
“The government has taken an oath to abide by the Constitution and protect all sections... but now it is trying to take away the rights of a section of the people. The Congress is committed to protecting the interests of all,” he said. He said that the State Government has done injustice to even Brahmins and Jains by including the minorities under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.
Meanwhile, Kunchatiga Vokkaliga community religious head Sri Nanjavadutha expressed his reservation on the quota set aside for Vokkaligas. “The hike in quota is inadequate and we do not want to appear as to be eating into the quota meant for another community,” the seer was quoted as saying at a public event in Mandya. The Congress asked the government to react to the seer’s remark.