BENGALURU: Karnataka’s BJP government on Saturday decided to increase reservation for SCs and STs by 2% and 4% respectively, with CM Basavaraj Bommai declaring the hike will be implemented “at any cost”.
A government order will be issued in two to three days, law and parliamentary affairs minister JC Madhuswamy said after a special cabinet meeting where the move was cleared ahead of assembly polls next year. The hike will benefit 103 SC and 56 ST groups. “After we discussed all options, we decided to hike the quota,” he said.
The 6% increase will take the state’s total quotas beyond the Supreme Court’s 50% cap to 56%, but the government vowed to have the latest measure included in the Constitution’s Ninth Schedule to protect it from legal scrutiny.
Madhuswamy said the Centre would be persuaded to amend the Constitution. “We’ll take all legal measures to ensure it (the hike) is implemented at any cost,” CM Bommai said.
Seeking to allay doubts over whether the higher quota will stand legal scrutiny, Bommai said the state had strong grounds to defend it in court. In the Indira Sawhney case, the SC had said the 50% ceiling can be breached if the quota is inadequate or not proportionate to the population of any community far removed from the mainstream of society, the CM argued.
A government order will be issued in two to three days, law and parliamentary affairs minister JC Madhuswamy said after a special cabinet meeting where the move was cleared ahead of assembly polls next year. The hike will benefit 103 SC and 56 ST groups. “After we discussed all options, we decided to hike the quota,” he said.
The 6% increase will take the state’s total quotas beyond the Supreme Court’s 50% cap to 56%, but the government vowed to have the latest measure included in the Constitution’s Ninth Schedule to protect it from legal scrutiny.
Madhuswamy said the Centre would be persuaded to amend the Constitution. “We’ll take all legal measures to ensure it (the hike) is implemented at any cost,” CM Bommai said.
Seeking to allay doubts over whether the higher quota will stand legal scrutiny, Bommai said the state had strong grounds to defend it in court. In the Indira Sawhney case, the SC had said the 50% ceiling can be breached if the quota is inadequate or not proportionate to the population of any community far removed from the mainstream of society, the CM argued.
