Affidavit filed in SC to increase reservation cap: Minister Basavaraj Bommai

Harihar: With many communities demanding reservation under various categories, the State government has filed an affidavit to increase the reservation cap, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Sunday.

"The state government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court to increase the reservation to more than 50 per cent to protect the interests of the backward classes," Bommai said at a function at the Sri Kaginele Mahasamsthana Kanaka Guru Peeth, here. According to him, there was a consensus in the Cabinet meeting in this regard and accordingly the affidavit was filed in the Supreme Court. "We are expecting a good decision from the Supreme Court," the Home Minister said. The minister said the state government was committed to increasing the reservation. Since various communities have applied for reservation, including the Halumath community demanding ST tag, reservation limit has to be increased above 50 per cent. Bommai also underlined that the Kuruba community wanted themselves to be categorised as Scheduled Tribe. In this regard, the government would undertake a study of genealogy. He, however, pointed out that increasing reservation was a challenge because it has to be legally tenable, it should be practical and within the framework of the constitution. To deal with the new challenge, a panel of experts, headed by a retired judge, has been formed so that no one should question this decision in future, the minister said. Speaking about the BJP government in Karnataka, Bommai said the government has been looking after all the communities and religions equally without any bias. He added that the Chief Minister has been extending every support to all the communities in the state. PTI