BENGALURU: Former MP and senior Congress leader VS Ugrappa on Saturday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take an all-party delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure legal protection for the hike in quota of SC/ST/OBCs by including it in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution. He said the courts have stayed fresh recruitment in government jobs affecting the prospects of SC/ST and OBC candidates.
Even as the previous BJP government led by Basavaraj Bommai had brought a law by hiking the quota of SCs from 15 to 17 per cent, STs from 3 to 7 per cent and providing OBCs with 32 per cent, together 56 per cent, the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) has kept aside the law. The High Court has stayed the implementation citing that the move breaches 50% ceiling of quota which has no constitutional validity.
He said both the state and central governments lack political will. The High Court’s interim order on December 2 has affected recruitment in the government besides promotion of officials as well.
Addressing a joint press conference under the flagship of ST Nayaka Valmeeki Community’s like-minded people’s forum he pointed out that both the houses of the Karnataka Legislature in 2022 had unanimously passed the Bill that resulted in The Karnataka SC and ST Reservation Act, 2022, coming into force.
“In Indra Sawhney & others versus Union of India case the Supreme Court had ordered that the quota should not breach 50 per cent cap but it had also said that there is a scope to hike the quota if the communities are not getting the adequate representation. Unfortunately the courts have failed to interpret it and also the lawyers concerned from the state government,” he alleged.
Ugrappa reiterated that he will not oppose the ST tag for backward caste Kurubas provided the government conducts ethnographic study of that caste and if found it has the tribal characteristics. He regretted that despite an ST community leader being at the helm of affairs, he could not protect the interest of the community.