Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that time has come to look beyond the present reservation policy and it is high time to think about reservation in private sector and it should be achieved through debate and dialogue.
Speaking at the inaugural function of the 9th National Conference of the Indian Association of Lawyers here, the chief minister said the need of the hour was to provide education, secure employment, housing and health facilities for oppressed and underprivileged classes without any further loss of time. “Our government has realized the same and has taken various positive steps in this direction,’’ the chief minister said.
Stating that it may not be out of context to mention that state government took the decision in January 2014 to conduct door-to-door social and educational survey of all the people of Karnataka, he said the same was executed by the State Commission for Backward Classes. “The data is awaited from the Commission. This exercise is the first of its kind, since 1931. The idea behind the survey is to collect the current demographic data and on other various aspects relating to living conditions of the people of the state and accordingly to configure the developmental policies and programmes to achieve an egalitarian society through socioeconomic justice,’’ he said.
The chief minister said that it cannot be forgotten that socioeconomic justice was not only a vast subject but also a complex issue too. “Nevertheless persistent endeavor to achieve the same should be continued. Because it is the duty of the every government and citizen, under the Constitution, to see that every human being is ensured a life of dignity and freedom from any kind of discrimination,’’ he said.
He stated that judicial pronouncements by the judiciary also pointed out the need for the collection of updated empirical data by conducting survey of entire populace to decide whether the reservations in favour of OBC groups are proportionate or not. “Our government always earnestly feels and yearns for new ideologies and new activities for the development of the state for ensuring social justice,’’ he said.
He said in the early 20th century, the Maharaja of Mysuru Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar took the historic decision to provide reservation for the backward classes. “That was a decisive phase in the history of backward classes’ movement in Karnataka. Later, D Devaraj Urs, one of the tallest leaders of Karnataka launched a new era in the politics of the backward classes and evolved a concrete program through reservation for the backward classes. Devaraj Urs appointed L G Havanoor as the Chairman of the first Backward Classes Commission in Karnataka to prepare a report on the backward classes. Devaraj Urs government successfully implemented the report, which heralded a new era in Karnataka,’’ he said.
