Congress: Dalit ire may singe JD(S) on promotion Quota

BENGALURU: Reservation in promotion for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) in government jobs may rise up as a key issue in the bypolls to three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies in Karnataka. Dalit organizations have already issued threats to campaign against the ruling JD(S)-Congress candidates in the bypolls for not putting the Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation Bill of 2017, even after President Ramanath Kovind gave his assent on June 14 this year.A delegation led by D Shivashankar of the SC/ST Employees’ Association recently met CM H D Kumaraswamy in Ramanagara to put him to fulfil the promise or face the ire of Dalits in the bypolls, party sources said. 

“Though the Congress was instrumental in introducing the Bill to protect SC/ST government employees, JD(S) is not showing the same zeal in implementing it. Dalits are very upset and it could have a bearing on the prospects of Congress candidates in some constituencies, since the BJP is expected to take advantage of it,” said N A Govindappa.
Later, at a recent cabinet meeting, Kumaraswamy had declared to implement the legislation on October 12, the day the Supreme Court was hearing the pending petition, irrespective of the outcome. state president of the federation of Backward Classes, Minorities and Dalits (Ahinda).

Another controversial issue between the two parties, observers say, is the implementation of the Justice A J Sadashiva Inquiry Commission, on methods of equitable variation of reservation facilities among Scheduled Castes (SCs) and recommended internal reservation among castes by broadly reclassifying all 101 castes into four groups. However, JD(S) and Congress leaders said there will be no differences between their parties over the issue. “We are equally committed to implementing the SC/ST promotion Bill and are waiting for bypolls to get over. Our target is to defeat the BJP and nothing else will come between,” a senior JD(S) minister said.