With the BJP going to town about the SC/ST quota hike, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Monday asked Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to spell out how his government plans to make sure the enhanced reservation would stand legally.
In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP government of "falsely claiming credit" for the decision to increase SC/ST quota "without telling the process that went behind the decision."
Last week, the Bommai administration decided to increase SC reservation from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for STs from 3 per cent to 7 per cent.
Siddaramaiah said the BJP government had not provided clarity on how the SC/ST quota hike would be implemented. "Supreme Court had passed a judgement on the limit to the reservation in Indra Sawhney case. Can Bommai explain the strategy to pass the legal test?"
Welcoming the decision on the SC/ST quota hike, Siddaramaiah pointed out that it was the Congress-JD(S) coalition government that set up the Justice H N Nagamohan Das Commission whose recommendation led to the decision.
"Implementation of increase in reservation to SC/STs is a long process and needs political commitment of the ruling parties. Do BJP MPs or Bommai have the capacity to get the work done from their Union BJP government?" Siddaramaiah asked.
On Sunday, at the Maharshi Valmiki Jayanti event, Bommai declared that his government's decision to increase SC/ST quota was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 'Sab ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas, Sab Ka Vishwas' call.