Cong says 'election lollipops of BJP didn't work for corrupt state govt'

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: Congress on Wednesday dubbed the increase in reservations offered to Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) as mere “election lollipops”, asking why the State government had pursued the same through unconstitutional methods.

The remarks were made in the backdrop of the Supreme Court (SC) staying the Government Order (GO) that had sought to scrap the Other Backward Classes (OBC) four per cent reservation for Muslims in the 2B subcategory and distributing it among Vokkaligas and Lingayats, the two most politically dominant castes in Karnataka on the eve of elections.

The fact that the State government failed to file an affidavit in the court in this matter has also drawn the ire of political rivals. The Grand Old Party is also unhappy with the BJP’s allegedly dragging its feet on the implementation of Nagamohan Das Commission report which recommended the increasing of quotas for Scheduled Castes (SCs) from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and Scheduled Tribes (ST) from 3 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

The comments were made by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar in a press conference in Mysuru. Surjewala termed the BJP’s reservation policy a “fraud”.

“The BJP and the Bommai Government have committed an unpardonable sin of staying their own reservation order dated 27th March, 2023 by way of a statement made before the Supreme Court of India on 25th of April, 2023 by the Solicitor General of India. What the Congress Party has always said has come true – The BommaiModi Governments are ‘Double Engine Droha’ (cheating). Defrauding all in the name of reservation that is Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs and minorities,” Surjewala said.

“The sole purpose of ‘Betrayal Janata Party’ – BJP is to give ‘lollipops of reservation’. The main intent of the Bommai government is apparent – get the reservation embroiled in litigation before the courts as the BJP and Bommai government does vote bank politics and claim fake credit without giving reservation to anyone,” he added.

(Box) DKS replies to Shah Shivakumar hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah – who had been touring the state – for claiming Congress planned on taking away reservations from Vokkaligas and Lingayats and giving it to Muslims.

“Earlier, Amit Shah questioned me. I’d like to question him from the very same Mysuru. Your government is losing time in lying and cheating. Are the great people of Karnataka fools?” he said, adding that it was the BJP that had tinkered the status quo vis a vis reservation and had it rejected by the courts. He pointed out that the Centre hadn’t been keen on expanding the quota for SCs and STs or raising the reservation cap to more than 50 per cent.