Ahead of internal quota report, Parameshwara calls meeting of Scheduled Caste Congressmen | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: With the Justice HN Nagamohan Das Commission likely to submit its report on internal reservation among Scheduled Castes (SCs) next week, home minister G Parameshwara has called a meeting of Congress legislators and ministers from various SC sub-castes to discuss the way forward.The meeting, tentatively scheduled for Saturday at Parameshwara’s residence, is aimed at gathering opinions within the party to avoid confusion and ensure consensus on the sensitive issue.“We plan to have a discussion on various sub-castes and their opinion,” Parameshwara said Thursday. “We had such a meeting before the survey. This is a continuation.”The Justice Nagamohan Das Commission is expected to submit its report on Monday (Aug 4), and the meeting is seen as a strategic move by Parameshwara to build intra-party cohesion ahead of the submission.When pointed out that Congress’ high command had previously stopped a similar gathering, Parameshwara said, “We had planned a huge rally then and they asked us to postpone it. They (high command) will not stop meetings of legislators as it is within our authority.”Asked whether this meeting would also include dinner, Parameshwara quipped, “Dinner or lunch or coffee meeting, we will do something.”A similar dinner meeting in Jan involving SC and ST ministers and legislators had triggered speculation about a leadership shift. While Parameshwara and others dismissed it as a preparatory event for an SC/ST convention, the gathering had sparked talk of a possible Dalit chief minister for the state.This discussion has gained fresh traction following recent remarks by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, who expressed disappointment over not being made chief minister in 1999. Parameshwara had recently said: “There was nothing wrong if the party’s national president returned to state politics.”Meanwhile, BJP MP and former deputy chief minister Govind Karjol Thursday, who is spearheading demand for internal reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), said Thursday they would launch a “Do or Die” movement if the state govt fails to act by Aug 11.Karjol said symbolic statewide protests will begin from Friday, and the govt will have until Aug 11 to issue an order providing internal reservation to SC communities. “If the govt does not, we will intensify our agitation from Aug 16. It will be a non-cooperation movement,” he said.On Friday, Madiga community members together with other SCs and with support from several organisations, will demonstrate in front of deputy commissioners’ offices at district headquarters and tahsildars’ offices in taluks. Protesters will submit memoranda demanding internal reservation.Karjol accused the govt of going back on its pre-poll assurance on internal reservation, reiterating that a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Arun Kumar had ruled in 2021 that state govts had the authority to provide internal reservation.