Former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of bowing to pressure from Scheduled Castes opponents of internal reservation, warning of a nationwide agitation if the government did not implement internal reservation based on the Justice Nagamohan Das Committee report and as directed by the Supreme Court.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Mr. Bommai asserted that there was no need to call a special Cabinet meeting to implement internal reservation for SC communities.
“If the Chief Minister is really committed, he should make an internal reservation as per the Justice Nagamohan Das Committee report in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court,” he demanded.
He insisted that the Supreme Court had made it clear that implementation of the internal reservation did not require an amendment to the Constitution. Even the State Advocate General informed the High Court that the Internal Reservation Act was passed with the approval of the Governor. “Still, the government has failed to implement its own law. If the law already exists, why is a special cabinet meeting required?” he wondered.
He claimed that there were factions in the state cabinet. “While one supports internal reservation, the other is against it. The chief minister succumbed to pressure from ministers who are against internal reservation,” he said.
Mr. Bommai expressed concern over the government’s decision to fill 56,000 seats without clarifying reservation.
The former chief minister alleged that the state government was consistently unfair to the SC and ST communities and never took a clear stand on issues affecting them.
Accusing the government of injustice to the nomadic communities in the interior reservation, he expressed concern over the situation of the nomadic communities, stating that they live in extremely difficult conditions, without proper housing and often in forest areas.
Published – 13 March 2026 21:08 IST
