Cong to hold SC/ST meet to counter BJP in K’taka

The Congress move comes in the backdrop of Bharatiya Janata Party holding conventions in Karnataka and with only a few months left for the assembly elections

The state unit of Congress will be holding an SC/ST convention — ‘Ikyata Samavesha’ — in Chitradurga of Karnataka on January 8, people familiar with the developments said on Thursday.

f Congress will be holding an SC/ST convention — ‘Ikyata Samavesha’ — in Chitradurga of Karnataka to counter BJP. (PTI)

The move comes in the backdrop of Bharatiya Janata Party holding conventions in the state and with only a few months left for the assembly elections. Last month, the BJP held a mega ST rally and public meeting in Ballari district. BJP national president JP Nadda, Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Bhagwant Khuba, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, BJP national general secretary and in-charge Arun Singh, were among those who attended the event. In October, the party also held a convention of Backward Classes in Kalaburagi.

Former deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, who addressed the media on Wednesday in Bengaluru, said that some parties are attempting to mislead the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, adding that the convention is being held to reassure people that the Congress is with them.

“Attempts are being made to mislead these (SC and ST) communities. We all decided to hold a preliminary meeting to reassure you (people) that we are there to protect your well-being. In the meeting, leaders of all SC and ST communities came together and decided that all the communities should hold this convention,” Parameshwara said.

“There are 101 SC and 52 ST sub sects. We want to bring all of them on one platform. Their problems are the same and there shouldn’t be differences among us,” he said.

The party is aiming to mobilise around five lakh people from the SC and ST communities for the convention, one of the people quoted above said. The state unit is also planning to get either former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the event, said the people.

The BJP has been claiming that it hiked the quota for SCs from 15 to 17% and for STs from 3 to 7%, however, it was during the Congress-JD(S) rule in the state when the process of increasing reservation by setting up justice Nagamohan Das committee started, Parameshwara pointed out .

“Now, our demand is to bring this quota hike in legal framework and introduce it in the 9th schedule of the Constitution. If the central government does not agree to this, it won’t be implemented,” Parameshwara said.

Veteran Congress leader and former Union minister KH Muniyappa, said: “BJP is dividing the 101 sub-castes within SCs and 52 among STs. So, we must unite. Equality for all as per Gandhiji’s ideology, Ambedkar’s Constitution can only be achieved by the Congress. All communities should be made aware of this.”

BJP MLC and state SC morcha president, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, hit out at the Congress for not making a Dalit as the chief minister and said the party uses the community as “vote bank”.

“They (Congress) have ditched the SC/ST community by not making a chief minister from that community. From the inception of Congress, Dalits have only been the vote bank for the party. Many Dalit leaders have also quit Congress, which has insulted the community,” Narayanaswamy said.

“Our party is providing scholarships and incentives for several businesses as well. The community fought for reservation for over 50 years, but the Congress did not pay heed to their demands. But the BJP hiked the quota for SCs from 15 to 17% and for STs from 3 to 7%,” he said.

Narayanaswamy said the convention will not help the Congress in any way and the only reason they are planning the event is because the BJP wanted to hold a similar convention earlier this year.

“We were planning to hold the convention in December, but we are unable to because of the Assembly session. The Congress wants to hold the convention before us. Let them do it. We are not worried.”

“The revolutionary changes that happened during former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s time should be brought back again, and should reach across the country. All communities should be convinced through this convention. Everyone should support the Congress,” Muniyappa said.

Congress MLA Satish Jarkiholi said that through this platform, they will demand that the schemes that were implemented for the SC and ST communities during Siddaramaiah’s tenure should be brought back.

“It has been decided that all the communities should unite and raise their voice regarding issues on one platform.At least 5 lakh people are expected to join this convention. We are holding this event to convey that we should all be united,” Jarkiholi said.

Asked about the demand for a Dalit chief minister, Parameshwara said it was up to the party high command if Congress comes to power in the state. “When the time comes, we will tell the high command...let us first bring the Congress to power and leave the decision of selecting the chief minister to the high command,” he said.