Amid Banjaras’ stir, Karnataka CM urges SCs to be ‘wary’ of Congress

The cabinet has recommended a 6% internal quota for SC (Left), 5.5% for SC (Right), 4.5% for touchable (Banjara, Bhovi, Korcha, Kuruma etc.) and 1% for others.

After deciding on internal reservation among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) community, the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in Karnataka is looking to reap the electoral benefits of it, even as it remains wary of the ire drawn from a section of the community, people close to the developments said.

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said that people should be “very careful about Congress”. (PTI)

Amid the growing clamour for internal reservation after a rise in the quota, the cabinet recommended a 6% internal quota for SC (Left), 5.5% for SC (Right), 4.5% for touchable (Banjara, Bhovi, Korcha, Kuruma etc.) and 1% for others.

However, the Banjara community is disgruntled with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as they feel the internal reservation for SCs has a lesser share of the benefits.

They also fear that going forward, they would be excluded from the SC category, said community leaders.

Looking to spread the party message of “social justice” done to the SC community and overcome the fallout, Bommai said that there was no proposal to remove the SC status and reservation for Banjara, Bhovi, Koracha, Korama and other communities.

“The BJP government will never remove the SC status of these communities till the sun and moon exist,” he said on Thursday.

Bommai said that people should be “very careful about Congress”, adding that it has been practising double standards and believes in a “divide and rule” policy.

“The party always insulted and meted out injustice to Dalit community people and its leaders,” he said.

The remark comes amid statements from Congress leaders that they will undo the changes brought in by the BJP government.

Ahead of the assembly elections in the state in May, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar said on Friday that as soon as the Congress government comes to power, it will cancel the reservation and “protect the interest of minorities”.

Experts and Opposition leaders have said that while the BJP has tried to retain the support of the SC (Left) with the last-minute internal quota gamble, it should be concerned that the SC (Right) and SC (Touchables) could move further away from the party.

Congress spokesperson M Lakshman pointed out that with the internal reservation move, the SC (Touchables), who supported the BJP in the previous elections, have turned against them.

“They want to confuse everybody. Some percentage of SC (Left) is already with the BJP. SC (Right) is not with them since before and the SC (Touchables) have turned against them. If you look at the 2018 results, most of the SC (Touchables) were with the BJP. Now, outrightly they have turned against the BJP,” Lakshman said.

The protest by the Banjara community took a violent turn in Shivamogga’s Shikaripura on March 27, when the protesters pelted stones at former chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s residence and clashed with the police. The agitation also spread to other parts of Karnataka, with a seer of the Banjara community attempting suicide in Shiggaon - the constituency of CM Bommai.

As the Opposition attempts to cash in on the opportunity with the Assembly elections fast approaching, Bommai, looking to counter it, has demanded that the Congress clarify its stand on whether it was pro or against internal reservation.

The ruling party also organised a programme, projecting it as a “thanksgiving gesture by members of the SC community”, at Hubbali recently.

“If you have the guts, let Congress leader Siddaramaiah say he will oppose internal reservation. Clarify your stand on the reservation. The Dalit community should know your stand,” Bommai said at the convention.

Janata Dal (Secular) MLC Thippeswamy said the internal reservation is a political decision rather than social justice decision as projected by the BJP. “They didn’t accept the Sadashiva Commission report and didn’t take the latest population data into account. It was not done scientifically.”

“They should have had some dialogue before taking such a quick decision with elections in sight. They didn’t have any consultation with the concerned groups either. They didn’t avail the data properly and how each community has to be represented. Internal reservation is essential, but the way they’ve done it and the timing are not correct. More studies should’ve been done and more data should’ve been collected,” Thippeswamy added.

“The internal quota committee was constituted by Congress when Siddaramaiah was the chief minister in 2016. If they were interested in giving reservations to the downtrodden and vulnerable, they should have constituted their committee and taken this issue to the Centre, to get it approved and amended. They have not done it. Why did they not do it earlier? Why are they doing it only during elections? They want to play with this issue, but in some cases, it has backfired,” Lakshman said.

President of KPCC backward classes’ wing, Madhu Bangarappa, speaking on the sidelines of the Backward Classes convention held at Siddapur in Virajpet taluk of Kodagu district recently, said the BJP created a fight between castes and religions. “People will give the correct answer to this later. It will start from this state itself, and this will be a lesson for the country,” he said.

While the BJP aims to pacify all the communities ahead of the elections, the Banjara community continues to protest against the government. On Thursday, prominent community leaders protested in the Sagara taluk Shivamogga district. The agitation is expected to gather more steam in the coming days.