Amit Shah defends scrapping 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in Karnataka
Bagalkote (K'taka) (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday defended the BJP government's decision in Karnataka of scrapping four per cent quota for Muslims saying the party never believed in religion-based reservation'.
The former BJP chief also took a dig at Congress for its stand that the quota would be restored if it is voted to power in the state after the May 10 Assembly polls.
"There was a religion based reservation of four per cent for Muslims. Without falling for the vote bank politics, the BJP government abolished the Muslim reservation," he said addressing a public meeting at Terdal in this district.
"We believe that religion based reservation should not happen," Shah opined.
The Minister added that after abolishing Muslim reservation, the BJP government increased the reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Vokkaligas and Lingayats.
Referring to the Basavaraj Bommai government's decision to increase the SC reservation from 15 per cent to 17 per cent, Shah noted that the internal reservation of SC (Left) now stands at six per cent, SC (Right)- 5.5 per cent and other SCs 5.5 per cent.
Responding to Congress president D K Shivakumar who has promised to restore the Muslim reservation if his party comes to power, Shah sought to know whose quota the party will scrap if it manages to form the government in Karnataka.
"Whose reservation will be decreased if four per cent reservation for Muslims is restored? Will it be Vokkaligas or Lingayat, Dalits, Scheduled Tribes or the Other Backward Castes?" the Minister asked.
At the fag end of its term, the BJP government decided to abolish the four per cent reservation for Muslims under 2-B category. The four per cent was later split into two and distributed among Vokkaligas in 2-C category and Lingayats in 2-D category.
Vokkaligas and Lingayats are the two major dominant communities of Karnataka.
Shah's statement came on a day when the Supreme Court directed that the state government's decision of scrapping quota for Muslims will not be implemented till May 9.
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Chikkamagaluru: Arms, ammunition suspectedly left in forest by surrendered Maoists recovered
Chikkamagaluru (Karnataka), Jan 11: The Karnataka police have seized arms and ammunition from a forest area near here, suspectedly left by Maoists, who surrendered recently, a police officer said on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters, Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikram Amathe however maintained that whether the arms and ammunition were left by surrendered Maoists, is a matter of investigation.
A group of six Maoists surrendered to the government in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his home office 'Krishna' in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening.
The Surrendered Maoists include Mundagaru Latha from Sringeri, Vanajakshi Balehole from Kalasa, Sundari Kutluru from Dakshina Kannada, Mareppa Aroli from Raichur in Karnataka. The other two are Vasanth K from Vellore in Tamil Nadu, and N Jeesha from Wayanad in Kerala.
"Late last night a case was registered at Jayapura police station under section 3,7,25(1B) and 25(1A) of the Arms Act of 1959. Based on the information received by the Police Sub-Inspector. He and his team had gone to the mentioned spot and conducted searches, and found arms and ammunition," SP Vikram Amathe said.
He also said, arms and ammunitions seized in forest area in Kittaleguli in Koppa taluk include one AK-56 rifle, three .303 weapons, one 12 bore SBBL gun, one country made pistol, and related 176 ammunations.
CPI Koppa will investigate the case, the SP said, adding that further investigations will follow to ascertain things.
Asked whether the arms and ammunition found belonged to surrendered Maoists, he said, it is a matter of investigation, they were found based on the information received. "Only after investigation, we can definitely say."
To a question that some arms were bearing symbols to show they belonged to Maoists, he said, it is a matter of investigation, we are gathering information about those symbols, and only after investigation anything can be said.
Asked as to when the Maoists will be taken to police custody, Amathe said, there are several cases against them, legal process is on, after which they will be taken into police custody.
Following the surrender, the Maoists were produced before the Special NIA Court in Bengaluru, which had remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days. They are currently lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison Complex in Bengaluru.
Siddaramaiah on Friday said authorities knew where the weapons of the surrendered Maoists, are kept, and they would be recovered following due process.
Earlier on Friday, Home Minister G Parameshwara said that surrendered Maoists have not handed over their weapons, and the police are working to locate and recover them from the forest where they are believed to have been disposed of.
