Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said a one man commission will soon be formed to gather empirical data for providing internal reservation among Scheduled Castes (SC).

"We have decided regarding internal reservation at the cabinet yesterday. In principle we have agreed to provide internal reservation. A one man commission of a retired High Court judge will be formed, he will have to submit the report in three months," Siddaramaiah said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said: "a few are of the opinion that there is no empirical data."

A section of SCs, especially 'SC Left', have been demanding internal reservation alleging that only a few influential sub-castes were taking away a majority of the benefits while many communities were still marginalised.

Just ahead of the Assembly polls, the previous BJP government's cabinet had taken a decision on internal reservation, by recommending to the central government a six per cent internal quota for SC (Left), 5.5 per cent for SC (Right), 4.5 per cent for "touchables" (Banjara, Bhovi, Korcha, Kuruma etc) and one per cent for others.

The cabinet's decision on Monday was in the backdrop of a landmark verdict delivered by the Supreme Court on August 1, which held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the SCs, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward.

The Chief Minister said: "For gathering the empirical data we will immediately form a commission, and get a report in three months. The commission will be given terms of reference. Other than recruitments for which notifications have already been issued, for the rest of the recruitments notifications will not be issued (till the internal reservation is provided)," he said.

A seven-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, by a majority of 6:1, set aside the apex court's five-judge bench verdict of 2004 in the E V Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh case which had held that no sub-classification of SCs can be allowed as they are a homogeneous class in themselves.

 

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New Delhi (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the dignitaries who attended a prayer ceremony at 'Sadaiv Atal', the memorial of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Thursday to pay tributes to him on his 101st birth anniversary.

Former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Ministers J P Nadda, Nirmala Sitharaman, NDA ally JD-U leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, several other ministers, MPs, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and BJP working president Nitin Nabin were among those who attended the event.

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In a message, the prime minister said Vajpayee's personality, work and leadership will continue to be a guiding light for the all-around development of the nation. He said Vajpayee dedicated his entire life to good governance and nation-building.

"He will always be remembered as a brilliant orator as well as a spirited poet. Vajpayee's personality, work and leadership will continue to be a guiding light for the all-around development of the nation," PM Modi said.

Vajpayee was born on this day in Gwalior in 1924 and passed away in New Delhi on August 16, 2018. The government observes his birth anniversary as Good Governance Day.

The BJP marked the day by its leaders commemorating Vajpayee's legacy in nationwide events. Its chief ministers, Union ministers and MPs, besides organisational leaders, are part of these programmes held across the country.

Vajpayee, India's 13th prime minister, served the country for three terms between 1996 and 2004.

He is known for his valuable contribution to India's economic growth. The 'Operation Vijay', commonly known as the Kargil War, was fought against Pakistan and won during his tenure as prime minister. He made India a nuclear weapons power.

He had a distinguished four-decade parliamentary career, was elected nine times to the Lok Sabha and twice to the Rajya Sabha.

Rising from humble beginnings in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) to the post of prime minister, he received the Padma Vibhushan in 1992 for his selfless dedication to the nation and was conferred with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2015.

Vajpayee championed democratic ideals, women's empowerment, and social equality.

As prime minister, he prioritised good governance and economic development, ”building national highways, rural roads, expanding telecom, and improving infrastructure.