Siddu govt mulling over 50% SC/ST quota in education, employment

Bengaluru, Oct 16: Karnataka government is mulling an increase in the reservation ceiling for the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in education and employment beyond 50 per cent, based on the population, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here today.

Government will come out with a decision in this regard soon after consulting legal experts and weighing its pros and cons, he said in an official release.

Speaking at a 'Valmiki Jayanti' function here, Siddaramaiah said that with the state's plan size of Rs 85,000 crore and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population being 24.1 per cent, Rs 19,542 crore has been allocated for the development of these communities in accordance with the population in 2016-17.

"All round development is possible only when everyone is entitled to quality education, equal share in power and prosperity," he said.

Stating that social reformers like Buddha, Basavanna (social reformer), Ambedkar, Kanakadasa (saint-poet) and Valmiki should not be limited to particular communities they belonged to, Siddaramaiah said, "we should realise that they were global citizens".

Pointing out that caste system is deep rooted in society, he said, "we should try to create social and political awareness while being within the system".

The Chief Minister while announcing various developmental programmes for the Valmiki community, said 10 acres would be given in the outskirts of Bengaluru to set up the Valmiki study and research centre.