Siddaramaiah revives quota debate, wants it hiked beyond 50 per cent

Bengaluru: In an apparent effort to divert people’s attention from the raging controversy over proposed construction of a prohibitively expensive steel flyover in the city, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday revived a debate on hiking the ceiling on reservations beyond 50 per cent for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in education and employment in public sector, and  introduction of quota system in the private sector as well.

The demand for enhanced reservation has been aired periodically by several OBC leaders. Their point has been that the quantum of reservations should be dependent on the number of people to be benefited, meaning that if the combined population of SCs, STs and OBCs in the country was 75 per cent, then reservations for them should be 75 percent.

Speaking at commemoration of Valmiki Jayanti here, Mr Siddaramaiah said: “The state government is consistently holding consultations with various groups such as intellectuals, social anthropologists and socio-economists besides interacting with legal experts to remove the existing reservation quota cap from 50 per cent.”
He said that he was of the opinion that as the population grew there was a need for every government to take a fresh look at the reservation matrix and incorporate changes accordingly.

“The caste system is deep-rooted and nurtured quite well for the last several centuries by supplying required ingredients to flourish well in our country. Wealth, education and power are three master keys to secure proper emancipation from this age old castism. And this can only be secured through reservations,” he contended.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said that there could only be equality in society if opportunities were shared equally as casteism denies every possible opportunity to gullible majority in this country, the reservations are must to end this hegemony.