Dalit leaders meet Siddaramaiah urging him to implement internal reservation among SCs

Karnataka Madiga group urges Chief Minister for internal reservation among Scheduled Castes, following Supreme Court order.

Members of the Karnataka Madiga Internal Reservation Horata Samiti met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday and urged him to implement internal reservation among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in accordance with the Supreme Court order on the issue.

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on August 1 this year held that States are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward.

The samiti pointed out that while Tamil Nadu had already implemented internal reservation, Haryana did it on Friday and Telangana was working on it.

The demand for internal quota has risen on the premise that sub-castes within the SCs are not a homogenised social denomination and there is intra-caste discrimination. The Justice A.J. Sadashiva Commission indicated that the SC ‘Right’ has got more benefits from reservation in education and employment than the other categories.

While legislators and leaders belonging to Banjara (Lambani), Bhovi, Koracha, and Korama communities have been opposed to the internal quota, Madiga community leaders argue that a bulk of the reservation is being cornered by Banjaras and Bhovis.

L. Hanumanthaiah, former Rajya Sabha member, who is a member of the samiti that met the Chief Minister on Saturday, told The Hindu that the Chief Minister had agreed to implement internal reservation in consultation with the Cabinet. “He assured us that the issue will be placed in the next Cabinet meeting, likely to be held on October 24, for discussion,” Mr. Hanumanthaiah said. 

“The Chief Minister assured us that he will also discuss this issue with the Congress high command. After discussion in the Cabinet, the government is likely to form a Cabinet sub-committee to recommend modalities of implementation similar to what was done in Telangana,” he said.