Will not implement decision on scrapping 4% reservation for Muslims till SC completes hearing:Bommai
Dharwad (KTK), Apr 25: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said the state government will not implement its decision to scrap four per cent reservation for Muslims in 2B category of the 'Other Backward Castes' till the hearing in the Supreme Court is completed.
He emphasised that the reservation for 17 sub-castes of extremely backward Muslims who are placed in Category-1 and Category 2-A have not been touched.
"We had decided that till the time the hearing is complete we will not take it forward. Court has not given any stay. We only have said that you (SC) hear the case; so long the case is heard, we will not implement it," Bommai told reporters here.
He was reacting to the Supreme Court's direction to the Karnataka government not to implement its decision of scrapping four per cent reservation for Muslims till May 9 when the matter will be heard.
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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 equally and distributed among the two dominant communities of the state Vokkaligas in 2-C category and Lingayats in 2-D category.
"There are about 17 sub-castes within Muslims Pinjar, Darzi, Chakarband. Those are still in the backward classes only under Category-1 and 2A. Those who are extremely poor are still in those two categories," Bommai said.
He also said that the Muslims have been placed in the Economically Weaker Section category which is entitled for 10 per cent reservation.
"Those who were getting four per cent have been put in the 10 per cent category. This way, no injustice has happened," Bommai explained.
In her reaction, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje said the Constitution of India does not permit religion-based reservation.
"The previous government had introduced it as part of its appeasement politics," Karandlaje said.
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Assam mining tragedy: Bodies of 3 more labourers trapped in coal quarry recovered
Guwahati, Jan 11: The bodies of three workers, who were trapped inside a coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district, were recovered on Saturday from the quarry during rescue operations, an official said.
Four bodies have so far been recovered with the first one taken out from the mine on Wednesday, he said.
The four deceased labourers were among the nine workers trapped inside the mine in Umrangsu on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the quarry.
"The rescue operations resumed this morning and three bodies were recovered as the search for trapped miners entered its sixth day. The body of one labourer, hailing from Nepal, was recovered on January 8," the official said.
One of the three labourers whose bodies were recovered from the mine during the day was identified as 27-year-old Ligen Magar, a resident of village number 1 of Kalamati in Dima Hasao, he said.
The identification of two other bodies is underway, the district official said.
Magar's body was found floating on accumulated water in the mine after the army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) divers went to bring out the worker, the official said.
"Another body was recovered from the Umrangsu mine a short while ago, marking the third recovery so far. The identification process is currently underway”, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X.
He said the rescue operations have been continuing with "unwavering resolve".
"Rescue efforts in Umrangsu continue with unwavering resolve. Tragically, another body was recovered this morning...," the chief minister posted on the microblogging site earlier in the day.
''Our hearts go out to the grieving, as we hold on to hope and strength in this difficult time," he added.
Dewatering of the quarry, which is 340 feet deep, was continuing with specialised machines brought in by ONGC and Coal India, the official said.
The chief minister had claimed that the mine was abandoned 12 years ago and was under the Assam Mineral Development Corporation till three years ago.
''It was not an illegal mine but an abandoned one. The workers had entered the mine that day for the first time to extract coal," Sarma said on Friday night.
He said that the leader of the workers has been arrested and the police are conducting investigations into the case.
Speaking on the ongoing rescue operations, Sarma said that dewatering has been continuing since Thursday and so far, 7 metres of water have been pumped out.
''There was water up to 26 metres across four wells. If water is cleared from the wells, we can expect some results'', he said.
Another machine has been brought in from Nagpur and would be operated from Saturday morning, Sarma said, adding that if it functions according to plans, it is expected that the water would be cleared by evening.
On the alleged involvement of a family member of Dima Hasao Autonomous Council's Chief Executive Member Debolal Gorlosa in the incident, the chief minister said, ''This is a human tragedy and we should not politicise it".
