Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Tuesday that a one-man commission will soon be created to collect empirical data for implementing internal reservations among Scheduled Castes (SCs). This move comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress government of politicizing the issue ahead of upcoming bypolls for three assembly seats in the state.
On Monday, the Karnataka cabinet approved the formation of a commission led by a retired high court judge and decided to postpone all upcoming recruitments for at least three months until the commission submits its report.
“We have in principle agreed to provide internal reservation. A commission consisting of a retired high court judge will be established, and he will need to submit his report in three months,” Siddaramaiah stated to reporters in Bengaluru. He added that there are differing opinions about the availability of empirical data on the issue.
A segment of Scheduled Castes has been advocating for internal reservations, claiming that a few influential sub-castes are benefiting disproportionately while many communities remain marginalized.
This decision by the Karnataka cabinet follows a landmark Supreme Court ruling on August 1, which affirmed that states have the constitutional authority to create sub-classifications within SCs, allowing for reservations to uplift those that are socially and educationally more disadvantaged.
The cabinet’s decision has drawn criticism from the BJP, which accused the Congress-led government of political maneuvering ahead of the November 13 bypolls in Channapatna, Shiggaon, and Sandur. State BJP president BY Vijayendra stated, “If Chief Minister Siddaramaiah were truly serious about internal reservations and the Kantharaj report on the socio-economic survey (commonly known as the caste census), he would have acted long ago. Instead, the Congress party seems more focused on political gain and creating confusion.”
The debate over internal reservations for SCs in Karnataka dates back to 2012, when the Justice AJ Sadashiva commission recommended redistributing SC reservation quotas. In 2023, the then-BJP government implemented a sub-reservation system allocating specific percentages to various SC communities: 6% for SC (left) groups such as Madiga, Adi Dravida, and Bambi; 5.5% for SC (right) groups like Adi Karnataka Holeya and Chalavadi; 4.5% for “touchable” SCs such as Banjara and Bhovi; and 1% for other nomadic groups. However, these measures faced pushback during assembly elections, leading to a decline in support from dominant SC communities.
Historically, the Congress party has garnered support from SC (Right) communities, while SC (Left) groups tend to lean toward the BJP.
