Amid leadership change buzz in the Karnataka government, the state Cabinet has decided to include all the communities that do not belong to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes in the economically weaker section category. This move is described to be a bid to appease the agitating communities. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavraj Bommai briefed the reporters and said that all the people who do not fit into SC/ST/OBC list would be eligible to apply for jobs and education seats under the EWS category. The official order for the same would be released shortly.
Demand Supported By BJP Leaders
The new order comes after seers across the state had led movements for the change in the reservation quota. The NewsMinute reported that all the families with an annual income of less than ₹ 8 lakh would be eligible for reservation quota under the EWS category. Yediyurappa was under tremendous pressure from his Cabinet ministers to improve the reservation quota in the state. The politically dominant Lingayat community demanded 2A status, the third-largest community named Kurubas demanding an ST tag in the state. The Valmiki community was seeking to increase their reservation from 3.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent. Several prominent BJP leaders had supported the demand.
Recent Reservation To Transgender Persons
Recently, the state became the first one to provide 1 per cent reservation to people belonging to the transgender community in government jobs. The government had told the Karnataka High Court that it would provide 1 per cent reservation to all people from both general and reserved categories in the community. This would imply that transgender people belonging to the SC/ ST category would get an additional reservation with the new order.
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