Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A. Narayanaswamy, whose recent response in the Rajya Sabha over internal reservation among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) caused a stir, on Saturday hit back at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who had said the Minister’s response had exposed the “lies and hypocrisy” of the BJP on the issue.
What he said in RS
Responding to a question whether the Union government was mulling over a constitutional amendment to Article 341 to allow internal reservation, the Minister had said the matter was sub judice and that of the 20 States that had submitted their opinion on recommendation to amend the Article, seven had supported it, while 13 States had opposed it.
Mr. Narayanaswamy said his response in the Rajya Sabha had only stated the present legal position. “The Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government had recommended the implementation of internal reservation and an amendment to Article 341,” he said, adding that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also said the party and the Union government were committed to its implementation.
Convince other States
Launching an offensive against Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Narayanaswamy asked him to convince States such as Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress was in power, and other States where partners of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) were in power and had opposed the amendment, to support the same.
He also said States such as Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu had implemented internal reservation even before the constitutional amendment. “If Mr. Siddaramaiah is really committed to the cause, let him convene a special session of the Karnataka legislature and implement internal reservation. The Congress manifesto promised to deliberate on the issue in the first session if the party wins anyway. He should also show his commitment by accepting the Kantharaj commission’s caste census report,” he said.
