SC/ST quota hike: Process for inclusion into 9th schedule has begun, says CM Bommai
Bengaluru, Feb 9: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said the sole aim of his government is to render justice to the SC/ST communities, and the process of including the quota hike decision in the ninth schedule of the constitution has started.
The CM was quoted as saying this while speaking at the inauguration of 'Janajagruthi Jathra Mahotsav' organised as part of Sri Maharshi Valmiki Jathra Mahotsav, in Davangere, by his office in a statement.
"Justice has been done to the oppressed communities as per Justice Nagmohan Das Commission report. While the reservation for the SC community has been hiked from 15 to 17 percent and for the Scheduled Tribe community it is up from 3 percent to 7 percent. This will benefit the youths of those two communities in jobs and education," Bommai noted.
Mere speech will not ensure social justice, he said adding the incumbent government has implemented the hiked quota and it is being followed in government recruitment.
The Karnataka legislature during the legislature session in Belagavi in December had passed a bill to hike the reservation for Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs) in the state.
The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or posts in the services under the state) bill, 2022, increased reservation for SCs from 15 to 17 per cent and for STs from 3 to 7 per cent.
The State Cabinet on October 8 accorded its formal approval to increase the SC/ST quota, and had subsequently issued an ordinance in this regard.
The decision to increase SC/ST quota was following the recommendation from a commission headed by a retired judge of Karnataka High Court Justice H N Nagamohan Das.
The opposition parties had supported the passage of the bill, but were skeptical about the government's intention with the implementation, as the hike in the reservation will breach the 50 per cent ceiling fixed by the Supreme Court in the 1992 Indra Sawhney case.
With the quota hike decision yet to be ring-fenced under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, leaving it vulnerable, as it takes the reservation tally in Karnataka to 56 percent, the opposition parties had been questioning the government as to how they would implement it.
The inclusion under ninth schedule of the Constitution is to be done through a constitutional amendment.
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NIA registers case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal
New Delhi (PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday registered a case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal, officials said.
The move came following a directive by the Union Home Ministry in this regard, they said.
In pursuance to the home ministry's order, the anti-terror agency on Sunday registered a case, which was originally filed at Uttar Kashi police station, Bhangar division, Kolkata on Saturday, and took up the investigation, an NIA spokesperson said in a late night statement.
"The case pertains to recovery of 79 crude bombs and other incriminating materials by Kolkata police, which were being stored at a spot, thereby endangering human life and property," the spokesperson said.
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission had directed the West Bengal Police to launch a special drive to arrest those involved in illegal manufacturing of crude bombs in the poll-bound state, an official said.
It asserted that all cases related to the making of any such explosive would be probed by the National Investigation Agency, the official said.
The directive came after the police recovered a large number of crude bombs from the house of a person, allegedly a TMC worker, at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district, days ahead of the second and final phase of the assembly polls in the state.
The explosives were recovered during a search at the residence of Rafikul Islam following specific inputs, the official said.
The poll panel also issued a warning to senior police officers across the state over any lapse in maintaining law and order before the April 29 polling.
The first phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal was held on April 23, while the second phase will take place on April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
A record 93.19 per cent turnout has been recorded in the first round of polling. Bhangar will vote in the second phase.
