Govt committed on quota issue: CM Bommai amid protests by Panchamasalis
Bengaluru, Jan 14: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said his government is working with commitment on the reservation issue, as Panchamasalis have renewed their protests with a demand to be included in 2A category of the OBC reservation matrix.
The Panchamasali community is a sub-sect of the dominant Lingayat caste in the state.
He also accused the opposition Congress of trying to reap benefits from caste politics.
The Panchamasali community wants to be included in Category 2A (15 percent) of the Other Backward Classes reservation matrix. They were till now under 3B (5 per cent).
However, the Karnataka Cabinet on December 29, 2022 had decided to create two new OBC categories for Vokkaligas and Lingayats (as a whole), and said it has planned to meet their reservation demand by utilising a portion of the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.
As per the Cabinet decision, the Vokkaligas who come under Category 3A of the OBC list will now be placed under the new Category 2C, while the Veerashaiva-Lingayats, who are under Category 3B now, will be put in Category 2D. The existing Categories 3A and 3B will be done away with. This cabinet decision has been stayed by the High Court, which ordered status quo on the matter.
"Government is working with commitment on the reservation issue...within a week after the Backward Classes Commission submitted the report, it was placed before the cabinet and in-principle approval was given to it. Based on the demands, an announcement was made to include those communities under category two and to increase their reservation," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said this is his government's first step in the right direction and shows its commitment.
"To enhance the reservation, there are certain Supreme Court directions and rules under the Constitution. The Backward Classes Commission should submit its report (final), after collecting empirical data, analysing the situation regarding employment and education. We have asked the final report to be submitted soon. We are committed and there is no need for any doubts," he added.
Members of Panchamasali community, led by Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peetha seer Basavajaya Mrutyunjaya, had staged a sit-in at the Kittur Rani Chennamma Circle at Shiggaon, Chief Minister's constituency in Haveri district, demanding 2A catagory for the community on Friday.
They burnt the effigies of Chief Minister Bommai and his predecessor B S Yediyurappa raising slogans against the government.
Stating that it is a huge responsibility on the government as justice should be done to all communities and injustice should not be done to any one, Bommai said: "We have done what we could have within a week after getting the interim report. No government can act faster than this."
Questioning as to why Congress did not fulfil the demand of the Panchamasalis' demand while in power, he said, when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister and Lingayat Panchamasali Mahasabha president Vijayanand Kashappanavar, who is leading the protest, was a Congress MLA, the Backward Classes Commission then headed by Kantharaj had rejected their application in 2016 to include Panchamasalis under Category 2A.
"The Congress is trying to reap political benefit in this caste politics," he claimed, alleging that attempts are on to vitiate the atmosphere unnecessarily, when the government is making honest efforts to enhance reservation for the community.
Reacting to senior BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, who is at the forefront of the Panchamasali agitation, allegedly calling one of the ministers a "pimp", the Chief Minister said that making such personal attacks against someone is not Karnataka's political culture, and that it reflects the legislator's own culture.
To a question on whether any action will be taken against Yatnal, he said the party is observing everything and will take the right decision.
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Islamabad talks: JD Vance leads US delegation in historic face-to-face negotiations with Iran
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Islamabad (PTI): A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance held historic face-to-face talks with top Iranian negotiators in Pakistan on Saturday to reach a peace agreement to end the war in West Asia that has paralysed global energy markets and disrupted trade.
The Pakistan-brokered talks -- the first direct, high-level engagement between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic Revolution-- are being watched globally amid increasing expectations of a breakthrough.
Ahead of the trilateral negotiations in Islamabad's Serena hotel, the Vance-led US team and the Iranian delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf held separate meetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
"After Pakistan PM Sharif held separate meetings with both the delegations, formal round of direct negotiations between Iran and the United States has officially begun," a senior Pakistani official told PTI.
Pakistan’s state-run PTV said Iranian and US officials sat across the table for "landmark peace negotiations." The format of the talks was not very clear.
As the negotiations continued, the Iranian government said on social media that "talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad entered the expert-level stage as economic, military, legal, and nuclear committees joined in".
Without elaborating, it added that certain"technical details” are being finalised.
Sources in the Pakistani establishment said that the overall atmosphere in talks was "encouraging".
There were reports that talks may continue on Sunday if no breakthrough was achieved tonight.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the negotiations have moved beyond general issues and entered technical-level discussions on "certain topics".
While Vance is accompanied by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the Ghalibaf-led Iranian delegation comprised Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Supreme National Defence Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati.
The two sides travelled to Islamabad on Saturday for the talks, four days after Iran and the US announced a two-week ceasefire. However, a massive wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon, killing more than 300 people, has left the truce in tatters.
While Tehran claimed the assault violated the terms of the ceasefire understanding, the US and Israel said Lebanon was not part of the deal.
Earlier, both delegations were received at the Nur Khan airbase by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Minister for Interior, Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi.
In his meeting with the Iranian delegation, Prime Minister Sharif affirmed Pakistan's sincere resolve to continue playing its role as a mediator towards achieving meaningful results from the peace talks.
Sharif, during his meeting with the American delegation, expressed hope that the talks between the US and Iran would lead to durable peace in West Asia.
In a related development, Mohammad Reza Aref, Iran's first vice president, said the peace talks could produce a deal if the American side worked in the interest of the US in sync with President Donald Trump's America First approach.
"However, if we face representatives of 'Israel First', there will be no deal," he said on social media.
Aref cautioned that the world will face "greater costs" if there was no peace deal.
Tasnim news agency earlier reported that negotiations between Iran and the US will not begin until Tehran's "preconditions," including stopping Israeli hostilities against Lebanon and de-freezing of Iranian assets are met.
Quoting an "informed source", it later claimed that the American side has agreed to release Iran's frozen assets. However, there is no confirmation yet on the report.
The US delegation also comprised Andrew Baker, the Deputy National Security Advisor to the President and Michael Vance, Special Advisor to the Vice President for Asian Affairs.
A full suite of US experts on relevant subject areas are present in Islamabad, according to US officials.
Earlier, Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf shared a photo from inside the aeroplane while en route to Pakistan. In the photograph, he is seen standing in front of images of the Minab School students killed in strikes, which were placed on the aeroplane seats.
"My companions on this flight — Minab 168," Ghalibaf posted on social media with the photograph.
US President Donald Trump has already cautioned that the US will resume its military action against Iran if the talks do not produce a peace deal.
Before departing for Pakistan, Vance said he was looking forward to the negotiations and hoped they would be "positive".
"As the US president said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend an open hand. If they're going to try to play us, they're going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive," Vance said before boarding his plane for Islamabad.
After his arrival in Islamabad early Saturday, Ghalibaf told reporters about the issue of trust with the US, reminding them of Iran's past experience with that country.
"Twice within less than a year, in the middle of negotiations, and despite the Iranian side’s good faith, they attacked us," he said, adding: "We have goodwill, but we do not have trust (in Americans)."
He said if the American side is ready for a "genuine agreement," then it would see Tehran's readiness for it.
Iran has laid out a 10-point plan for the talks that included demands for the withdrawal of US forces from West Asia, the lifting of sanctions against Iran, and allowing it to control the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan led the diplomatic push to bring the two sides to the table, which became possible after an appeal by Prime Minister Sharif earlier this week, leading to a pause in the fighting.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi, who held a telephone call with the country's ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Reza Shibani, earlier asserted that the US must live up to its ceasefire commitments, which he said included ensuring the truce covers Lebanon.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the Israeli attacks on Lebanon "blatantly violated" the initial ceasefire and would render negotiations meaningless.
A thick security blanket covered Islamabad, which was on ‘red alert’ ahead of the talks.
More than 10,000 police and security personnel have been deployed to ensure multi-layered security for the visiting delegates, officials said.
The Red Zone, housing key buildings, is protected by the army and the Rangers, and only authorised officials and residents are allowed to go through it.
The Iran-US negotiations are being closely watched globally, as their success or failure could have far-reaching implications for West Asia's security, global energy markets, and international diplomacy.
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