Cabinet bites the bullet on internal reservation for SCs

The Cabinet on Friday decided to recommend internal reservation for Scheduled Castes, a contentious issue that the BJP government hopes will not become a double-edged sword during the upcoming Legislative Assembly election, to the union government.

The Cabinet has recommended a 6% internal quota for SC (Left), 5.5% for SC (Right), 4.5% for touchables (Banjara, Bhovi, Korcha, Kuruma etc) and 1% for others. The recommendation will be sent to the union government.

A section of Scheduled Castes has been demanding internal reservation alleging that only a few influential "touchable" sub-castes were taking away a majority of the benefits while many untouchable communities were still marginalised.

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Responding to these demands, the Basavaraj Bommai Cabinet decided to implement internal reservation to ensure equal opportunity for all the 101 castes that come under the SC list.

"Successive governments until now did not want to tackle this issue as it was a can of worms," Bommai told reporters. "There were concerns by the touchable communities that they would be removed from the SC list. They will continue to be part of the SC category," he stressed.

The BJP government has already increased reservation in education and jobs for SCs from 15% to 17% and for STs from 3% to 7%.

Earlier, the Justice A J Sadashiva Commission had recommended internal reservation based on population data collected at the taluk level. This was contended by a section of SCs who demanded that the government must take the 2011 Census into consideration. "We have now arrived at this matrix based on the 2011 census. We have also considered the remoteness of communities while deciding the reservation matrix," Law Minister J C Madhuswamy, who headed a Cabinet sub-committee on the internal reservation, told DH.

The Siddaramaiah-led Congress was accused of sitting on the report when it was in power between 2013 and 2018. Poll pundits say this resulted in a section of Dalits moving away from the Congress during the 2018 polls.

However, the BJP government’s move to provide internal reservation could take it into treacherous terrain. Apparently, the Lambanis and Bhovis - touchable Dalits - are not in favour of internal reservation as it would hit their own prospects in terms of benefits.

'Kadu Kuruba study ready'

An anthropological study of the Kadu Kuruba and Banda Kuruba communities is ready and it will be sent to the Centre so that they get included under the ST list, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said. Meanwhile, the Centre has sought the state's opinion on inclusion of Kadu Gollas under ST category. The state government will examine all such demands from communities to be included under STs in the coming days, he added.