Siddaramaiah hits back at Karnataka Chief Minister's Muslim quota demand

Bengaluru:

In a scathing counterattack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he claimed that the Congress government in Karnataka had transferred a reservation quota meant for backward classes and Dalits to Muslims, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah challenged the Prime Minister to prove his accusations or apologize to the nation.

Addressing an election rally in Rajasthan's Tonk on Tuesday, the Prime Minister accused the Congress of trying to extend reservations on the basis of religion and giving them to Muslims. He also reiterated his earlier allegations that Congress had hatched a “deep conspiracy” to seize the people's wealth and distribute it to a “select” group. The Congress denied the accusation and said it had no such plan.

At the Tonk rally, the Prime Minister asserted, “As soon as the Congress formed the government at the Center in 2004, one of the first things it did was to reduce the SC/ST reservation in Andhra Pradesh and give it to the Muslims. was a pilot project that Congress wanted to try nationwide. »

“Between 2004 and 2010, the Congress made four attempts to implement Muslim reservations in Andhra Pradesh, but due to legal hurdles and outreach to the Supreme Court, it could not achieve its goal. intention,” he said. “In 2011, the Congress tried to implement it across the country. They played the game of taking away the rights given to the SC, ST and OBC and giving them to others for poll operations politics,” he said.

The Prime Minister also said that when the BJP government in Karnataka got the chance, it abolished the Muslim quota created by the Congress government outside reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Responding, Mr Siddaramaiah said the Prime Minister's claim that the Congress government in Karnataka had transferred reservation quotas from backward classes and Dalits to Muslims was “a blatant lie”. “This comes from ignorance but also from despair born from the fear of defeat. No leader in the history of our country has ever lowered the office of Prime Minister to such a low level,” he said. declared in a press release also published on X.

“Being in a position of responsibility, Prime Minister Narendra Modi must either back up these irresponsible allegations with evidence or apologize to the nation. Where did the Congress declare that it will take away reservations from the backward classes and SC/STs and give them to Muslims? Which state government in Congress has implemented such a policy? Is there an official government document on this? Prime Minister Modi must present all these details to the nation,” he said.

Constitutional reservations, he said, cannot be changed arbitrarily. “Revisions in reservations can only be made on the basis of social and economic survey reports. Further, state governments do not have the power to amend reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Such amendments require the approval of both houses of Parliament. The fact that a Prime Minister's lack of basic knowledge is truly tragic for our country,” he said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said Muslims have been given reservation in Karnataka by including them in the 2B category for backward classes.

“This is not something that has been done now. It was based on the reports of the Backward Classes Commissions which launched the LG Havanur in 1974. This reservation has been in place for three decades. Neither has the BJP government previously in power in the state, nor the Union government led by Narendra Modi, in power for the last ten years, has questioned this reservation. Moreover, no one, including the BJP, has challenged it before. the courts,” he said.

Targeting the previous BJP-led government in the state, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Prime Minister appears to have “overlooked the way the Basavaraj Bommai government, with the sole intention of dividing votes on the basis of religion before the last Assembly elections, attempted to arbitrarily modify the reservation.” and was reprimanded by the Supreme Court.” “The Supreme Court has stayed the decision to cancel the 4% reservation for Muslims. The Supreme Court has ordered that the revised reservation shall not be implemented until further orders. It is regrettable that even such important information escaped the attention of the Prime Minister,” he said.

“In Karnataka, the previous BJP government had announced an increase in reservation for Scheduled Castes from fifteen to seventeen percent and for Scheduled Tribes from three to five percent. They also claimed to have written to the government of Union on this issue However, on March 14, 2023, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Narayana Swamy informed the Lok Sabha that no such letter had been received from the BJP government of. the State and that no proposal to increase the reserves was under consideration? take note of this decision?”, he asked.

Tagging former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Devegowda, Mr. Siddaramaiah added, “I am eager to know the views of Modi's new ally, Shri HD Devegowda. Shri Devegowda, who boasted formerly for implementing reservation for Muslims, should clarify his current position.

“Despite having ruled for the last ten years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's lack of significant achievements proves that he is a failed leader,” he said.