Will pass law for SC/ST quota hike ordinance in next Assembly session: CM Bommai
Hubballi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said his government will take every measure to offer legal protection to the ordinance increasing the reservation for SCs and STs in educational institutions and government jobs.
The ordinance increasing the reservation for Scheduled Castes from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and Scheduled Tribes from 3 per cent to 7 per cent, got Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's assent on Sunday.
After it was approved by the Governor, it was made public through a gazette notification.
The gazette notification said the number of castes increased drastically after the inclusion of some more communities. The total population of SCs and STs in the state went up by leaps and bounds, it added.
"There is a need to get approval of both the Houses, which we will do in the next (Assembly) session," Bommai said.
Regarding a few other recommendations on reservation, the Chief Minister said those proposals are pending before various commissions. Once the report comes, the government will take action, he added.
Bommai declined to comment on the possibility of removing or adding communities from the reservation categories saying that such decisions have to be taken within the framework of law and the Constitution.
The Karnataka government brought the ordinance for SCs and STs in accordance with the Justice Nagamohan Das Committee recommendation to increase the quota.
The move is seen as an attempt by the BJP government in Karnataka to woo the SC/ST communities ahead of assembly elections, which are about six months away.
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5 killed, 11 injured after mini bus rams into parked truck in Kalaburagi
Kalaburagi (PTI): Five people, including a 13-year-old girl, died and 11 others were injured after a mini bus they were travelling in allegedly rammed into a parked truck near Nelogi Cross in Jewargi taluk of this district in the wee hours of Saturday, police said.
The passengers, all residents of Bagalkote, were en route a dargah in the Kalaburagi district when the accident occurred at around 3.30 AM, they said.
According to the police, the truck whose tyre got punctured was parked on the left side of the road. The driver was busy changing the tyre when the mini bus carrying passengers to dargah hit the truck from behind.
The impact of the accident was such that five people died on the spot while several other passengers were injured, A Srinivasulu, Superintendent of Police of Kalaburagi, said.
Citing preliminary inquiry, another police officer said that the driver of the mini bus, which was allegedly speeding, fell asleep and lost control of the vehicle and ended up hitting the parked truck.
Those injured have been shifted to a hospital where they are undergoing treatment, he said.
Initially, police thought that the driver of the mini bus must have fled the spot after the accident, only to later find him lying on the road in a pool of blood. He is undergoing treatment at the hospital and is stated to be in a critical condition, police said.
A case has been registered for causing death due to negligence under section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and further investigation is underway
