Dr.Thomas (Special Correspondent)
The upliftment of last man in society has been the original idea of BJP,said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Talking to reporters here on Wednesday,he said the bold decision to extend reservation for SC/ST was taken by the union government led by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
For the welfare of the last man in society, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya launched the ‘Antyodaya’ scheme which has been the original idea of BJP.
This was not known to Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah.
The hike in reservation for SC/ST is historic as no government in the past had done this.The demand to hike reservation has been pending for the last 50 years and the Congress party while in power did not do anything.
The current BJP government has done this by taking all parties into confidence.The next course of action will be discussed with legal experts and then implement it.
Reacting to Dharwad MLA Arvind Bellad’s statement for the removal of religion based reservation for the Christians and the Muslims, Bommai said the government will do according to the Constitution and nothing will be done beyond its framework.
Many people will say many things and it must be based on the report,thinking or statistics.The decision to hike quota for SC/ST was based on the study report of Justice Nagamohan Das.I will not comment on any individual opinion or statement”.
Ruling out any connection between ‘Bharat Thodo’ and ‘Jan Sankalp’ yatra, the CM said the BJP yatra was decided nearly one and a half months ago but it was postponed due to rain.
Congress is anti-SC/ST
Reacting to Siddaramaiah and Priyank Kharge statement on hike in quota for SC/ST,he said the Congress Party that ruled the State for five decades did not meet this demand.
The commission to study the hike in reservation for SC/ST was taken during the tenure of Chief Minister H.D.Kumaraswamy but the courage to implement it was shown by the incumbent BJP Government.
The objection raised by Congress leaders clearly indicates its anti-SC/ST attitude.
People’s blessings for Jan Sankalp yatra
He said Jan Sankalp yatra began from a village in Raichur district and has been getting good response from people.The Jan Sankalp Yatra will continue till December, 2022.
In the first phase,it will be held in over 50 assembly constituencies and through the rally, the people will be explained about the schemes launched by the State government, benefits to lakhs of people through the policies and programs of the BJP led NDA Government in the centre and the future policies keeping in view the interest of all the communities and ways to take benefits of the same.
The response to the BJP yatra is an indication of his party coming back to power in the State with a thumping majority next year,he added.
