Congress dalit figures in Karnataka close ranksahead of internal quota report | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: With the Justice HN Nagamohandas commission set to submit its report on internal reservation for scheduled castes (SCs), senior dalit functionaries of Congress, including ministers and legislators, have resolved to remain united and avoid infighting over expected discrepancies in the caste-wise data.Home minister G Parameshwara, who chaired a closed-door meeting with SC ministers and legislators at his Sadashivanagar residence in the city Saturday, said the participants agreed to prioritise long-delayed quota reforms over internal differences.“We have been waiting for the internal reservation for many years. If there are conflicts about the report, it may lead to further delays. So, we have decided to stay together by ignoring small differences,” he added.The meeting comes ahead of the submission of the Nagamohandas commission report, which has collected empirical data on 101 scheduled castes to guide sub-quota distribution within the community. The report, which is expected to be submitted to CM Siddaramaiah on Aug 4, is likely to recommend revised shares for various sub-castes based on population and backwardness, raising concerns of potential discontent.“There are no MLAs or ministers from many sub-castes. So, we have decided to bring all socially and educationally backward groups into the mainstream. Everyone should get justice,” Parameshwara added, while urging all SC communities to stand together when the report is released.Ministers KH Muniyappa, HC Mahadevappa, RB Thimmapur, Shivaraj Tangadagi, deputy speaker Rudrappa Lamani, and several MLAs and MLCs participated in the meeting. Among them were KS Basavanthappa, AC Srinivas, Darshan Dhruvanarayan, Nayana Motamma, Roopakala Shashidhar, HV Venkatesh and Dr Thimmaiah.They resolved to meet Siddaramaiah once the report is submitted and press for a Cabinet decision ensuring fair representations for all SC communities. “If we are divided, the implementation will get delayed again. That should not happen,” Parameshwara said. “We have discussed staying together after the commission submits its report. We will meet again to decide the course of action to give justice to all the communities within the SC,” Pulikeshinagarr MLA, AC Srinivasa, said after the meeting.