Hike in SC, ST reservation: Will urge Centre to include it in 9th schedule, says CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that his government will urge the Centre to include the recent increase in reservation to SC and ST communities under the ninth schedule of the Constitution.
He also gave an assurance that the government will table the Socio Economic Survey report in the legislature.
The chief minister said this after being felicitated by a delegation of the Federation of Backward Classes and Dalit seers here, his office said in a release.
Terming the hike of reservation by the previous BJP government an election gimmick, the CM said that even though the legislation enhancing reservation was implemented, they sent the proposal to the Centre to include the same in the 9th schedule just two days before elections.
The previous government has created confusion on the pretext of creating internal reservation for backward and scheduled castes, he said. "As a result of ignoring the advice given by us to take all communities into confidence before enhancing internal reservation, they faced opposition from various communities."
Such confusions arise when one does not have a commitment to social justice, he further said, adding that the Jana Sangh and the BJP have always had an anti-reservation stance. "The increase in reservation is a political gimmick."
The government will clear all confusions with regard to reservations, Siddaramaiah said, adding "The people of Karnataka have given an opportunity to the Congress party and are expecting a change. Whether it is in power or not, the Congress is always a secular party and will never compromise on its stand with regard to social justice."
Equal opportunities have to be given to people who are deprived of opportunities, the CM said, adding that when Congress was in power previously, the government had conducted socio-economic surveys through a permanent backward classes commission at a cost of Rs 162 crore.
"The previous governments hesitated to receive the survey report, but now our government will receive the report. Necessary facilities shall be provided in different sectors like education, employment, and business based on the facts," he added.
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Putin says he hopes there will be no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine
Moscow, May 4 (AP): Russian President Vladimir Putin said in comments broadcast Sunday that the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine had not arisen and that he hopes it will not.
In a preview of an upcoming interview with Russian state television, published on Telegram, Putin said Russia has the strength and the means to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a “logical conclusion.”
Responding to a question about Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, Putin said: “There has been no need to use those (nuclear) weapons ... and I hope they will not be required.”
“We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires,” he said.
Putin signed a revamped version of Russia's nuclear doctrine in November 2024, spelling out the circumstances that allow him to use Moscow's atomic arsenal, the world's largest.
That version lowered the bar, giving him that option in response to even a conventional attack backed by a nuclear power.
Russia and Ukraine are at odds over competing ceasefire proposals.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, in comments made public Saturday, that Moscow's announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire next week in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II is merely an attempt to create a “soft atmosphere” ahead of Russia's annual celebrations.
Zelenskyy instead renewed calls for a more substantial 30-day pause in hostilities, as the US had initially proposed. He said the proposed ceasefire could start anytime as a meaningful step toward ending the war.
Putin on Monday declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II, as the US presses for a deal to end the 3-year-old war. The Kremlin said the truce, ordered on “humanitarian grounds,” will run from the start of May 8 and last through the end of May 10 to mark Moscow's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 — Russia's biggest secular holiday.
Meanwhile, 11 people were wounded in a Russian drone attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Sunday. Two children were among the wounded.
The attack woke up Valentyna Fesiuk, an 83-year-old resident of Kyiv's Obolon district.
“I was just sleeping when the house shook. It was at 12:30. An apartment on the 12th floor caught fire," she told The Associated Press.
The car of another resident, Viacheslav Khotab, caught fire.
“I saw my car burning. I was covered with broken glass,” he said. “I couldn't do anything.”
The 54-year-old was frustrated with stalled peace negotiations: "They can't agree on anything, and we are the ones who suffer the consequences.”
Russia fired a total of 165 exploding drones and decoys overnight, Ukraine's air force said. Of those, 69 were intercepted and a further 80 lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Russia also launched two ballistic missiles.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down 13 Ukrainian drones overnight.
