Internal quota for Scheduled Castes to be finalised at next cabinet meeting: Parameshwara

Bengaluru: Home minister G Parameshwara said the govt will take a decision on internal reservation among Scheduled Castes at the next cabinet meeting — likely later this week — indicating that a broad consensus had emerged and only technical aspects remained to be worked out. He dismissed speculation about divisions within governing Congress on the issue and said different opinions within the party should not be mistaken for factions. "Not two, not three — there are no factions at all," Parameshwara said Monday. "Different people express different opinions. Just because someone expresses an opinion it does not mean it is factionalism." He said discussions are on to work out proportional distribution of reservation after the overall quota was reduced from 56% to 50% following court directions. He said that after the Justice Nagamohan Das report was submitted, the govt had retained the 56% base and created three categories of internal reservation — 6% each for SC Left and SC Right and 5% for ‘touchables' or other communities. He said this matrix had not faced opposition then. He pointed out that the court later ruled that reservation cannot exceed 50%, in line with the ceiling fixed in the Indra Sawhney case. "Based on that order, the matrix drawn up earlier needs to be recalculated proportionately after bringing total reservation down to 50%." He said the govt is working to prevent confusion in the roster system or in promotions once the revised formula was implemented. He added that the issue involved several communities, including Bhovis, Lambanis, Korachas, Koramas besides nomadic groups, and discussions were held on providing a separate reservation for nomadic communities. "We will take all these aspects into account before arriving at a decision," he said. On reports that the issue could affect govt recruitment, Parameshwara said the matter was only technical in nature and that the govt has already decided to fill more than 56,000 posts. "When we issue a notification, we must clearly specify reservation categories," he said. "We cannot announce reservation after a notification. For example, if we announce 10,000 posts, we must say beforehand how many posts go to which category. We are currently working out these details." Parameshwara also accused opposition BJP and its ally JD(S) of trying to derive political advantage from the issue. Earlier, the home minister, a Right sect of Dalit, visited Left sect minister KH Muniyappa's residence to wish him on his birthday. The two also discussed the internal reservation issue.