SC/ST quota hike: K'taka govt writes to Centre for 9th Schedule

The BJP government on Thursday wrote to the Centre seeking a constitutional amendment to bring its decision to hike SC/ST reservation under the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.

The constitutional amendment will provide legal protection for Karnataka’s decision to increase SC/ST quota to 56 per cent, above the 50 per cent cap.

Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma wrote to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla seeking inclusion of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Education Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in services under the State) Act, 2022, under the 9th Schedule.

The state government recently hiked reservation in education and jobs for SCs from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and STs from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. This has taken the reservation tally in Karnataka to 56 per cent, above the 50 per cent limit fixed by the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney judgement. Politically, the ruling BJP hopes that the big policy move would result in Assembly poll gains.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai pointed out that the new reservation is being applied to ongoing recruitment and promotions. “The government is committed to getting it included under the 9th Schedule,” he said earlier on Thursday.

Inclusion of the reservation hike under the 9th Schedule will give it legal protection if it is challenged in court.

The Congress has been demanding constitutional validity for the reservation hike. The party will stage a protest led by D K Shivakumar outside the Raj Bhavan on Friday. Bommai said the Congress had no moral authority to blame the BJP as “they did nothing about it when in power”.