Karnataka CM Bommai justifies move to scrap 4% OBC Muslim quota and split it between Lingayats and the Vokkaligas

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has justified the move of scarp the 4 per cent reservation for OBC Muslims in jobs and education and split it between the Lingayats and the Vokkaligas, two important communities of the state, who are said to be able to swing any election in Karnataka.

The move will not hurt the Muslims as they have been moved to the EWS quota, which has 10% reservation, Bommai said about the decision taken on Friday. “We have moved them from a category with a 4% quota to a category that has 10%. It will not harm their interest in any manner. Moreover, reservation is given to castes, not religion," Bommai said about the decision taken just a month before Assembly elections are to be held in the state.

Under the new reservation policy, the Lingayats will enjoy 7% reservation in government jobs and education and the Vokkaligas 6%, respectively, under the newly created 2D and 2C categories. “We will soon issue a government order to implement the cabinet decision,” Bommai said.

Bommai also attempted to appease the Kurubas who had sought reservation under the ST category. “We have decided to ask the department concerned to conduct an anthropological study on the lifestyles of Kurubas. Once the study report is received, we will recommend to the Centre that they be classified as ST,” he said.