Karnataka Ministers urge Congress High Command to appoint Dalit Chief Minister
Senior Dalit Congress leader and Karnataka's Food and Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa reiterated his long-standing demand for greater representation of Dalit leaders within the party and the government.Speaking to reporters, Muniyappa said Dalits must be given the opportunity to occupy top posts such as the Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President.'I had earlier suggested Mallikarjun Kharge for the Chief Minister post when Dharam Singh was made Chief Minister. Later, I pushed for Parameshwara to be appointed Deputy Chief Minister when Siddaramaiah took over, even though Parameshwara had lost the election,' Muniyappa said. 'There is intent to empower Dalits, but it seems the time for that has not yet come.'advertisement
While acknowledging that Karnataka already has a sitting Chief Minister, Muniyappa said both the Chief Minister and party presidential positions are subject to the High Command's decision. 'These communities should not forget to give us an opportunity,' he added.Backing Muniyappa's remarks, Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna said, 'Why shouldn't that happen? In a democratic system, anyone can aspire for any position. Everyone is qualified to demand what they want.'Rajanna added that the final decision would lie with the party's central leadership but expressed solidarity with the demand. 'Whoever wants to become [CM or President], I will join their chorus,' he said.
IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Caste survey decision by Cong brass, not Karnataka government, says CM Siddaramaiah
BENGALURU: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah sought to clarify Wednesday that it was the Congress brass's decision and not his govt's to undertake a fresh caste survey, suggesting unease at the prospect of his core vote bank of minorities, backward classes and Dalits not taking kindly to re-enumeration after leaked data from the 2015 exercise showed a massive jump in their numbers. Siddaramaiah, under the pump for the June 4 stampede in Bengaluru in which 11 cricket fans died, told reporters at Gauribidanur in Chikkaballapur district that there were "some complaints" about the Kantharaj Commission's caste survey data. Won't reject 2015 census report: Siddaramaiah There were claims that the data was outdated, so some suggested a fresh enumeration within a relatively shorter timeline. We won't reject the (2015) report. We have already accepted it in principle," Siddaramaiah said. On whether he was disappointed with Congress's decision to go for fresh survey, he said, "We will act per the high command's directive. It's not our decision."Siddaramaiah and his deputy minister D K Shivakumar had been summoned to Delhi Tuesday for a meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, purportedly to explain state govt's failure to stem the outrage over the stampede sparked by an allegedly mismanaged victory parade for IPL-winning cricket franchise RCB. While Siddaramaiah appeared wary of owning the decision to enumerate caste demography afresh, Shivakumar batted on the front foot. He questioned why BJP was criticising the decision to conduct a new survey after refusing to accept data from previous one. "Why such opposition when we are trying to address concerns? We are not rejecting the Kantharaj Commission's report. We are only trying to correct the shortcomings of the earlier survey," DKS said.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Rahul Gandhi urges PM Modi to end woes of OBC students
New Delhi: The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi , urging him to address the issues of delays in distribution of post-matric scholarships for students from backward communities and the poor conditions in residential hostels for these students. Gandhi cited his experience during a visit to a university hostel in poll-bound Bihar to raise the issues, saying they are also prevalent in other parts of the country. He sought regular audit of these hostels as well as enhanced and regular payment of pre-matric scholarships for these sections of students. "I request you to resolve two critical issues which hinder education opportunities for the 90% of students who are from marginalized communities . Firstly, the conditions in residential hostels for students from Dalit, ST (scheduled tribe), EBC (extremely backward classes), OBC (other backward classes) and minority communities are deplorable," Gandhi said in his letter dated June 10.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Quota sub-categorisation ensures marginalised get their share: CJI B R Gavai
NEW DELHI: Nearly a year after penning the seven-judge Supreme Court bench's majority view favouring sub-categorisation of Scheduled Caste quota, India's second Dalit CJI B R Gavai has said the ruling ensured that the most backward among Dalits got a fair share in public employment and admissions to govt educational institutions. Speaking at the Oxford Union on 'From Representation to Realisation: Embodying the Constitution's Promise' on Tuesday night, CJI Gavai stepped into the rare zone of a judge explaining his judgment in public. The seven-judge bench judgment, authored by Justice Gavai, had on Aug 1 last year permitted states to sub-categorise castes within SC communities based on socio-economic backwardness and the degree of under-representation in govt jobs to ensure that the larger pie of 15% quota went to the most backward. The court had asked govts to devise suitable criteria to bar the 'creamy layer' among the SCs from availing reservation. The logic behind the court's suggestion for keeping out the 'creamy layer' was that the children of civil servants and others from among the SCs, who had moved up on the socio-economic ladder and received good education, were not deserving of quotas. In his speech, CJI Gavai said the apex court's decision to uphold the principle of sub-classification within quotas for SCs "was not to question the relevance or success of reservations, but to ensure that the most marginalised within marginalised groups receive their fair share". He said many decades ago, millions of citizens of India were called untouchables, but the country had marched ahead and "here we are today, where a person belonging to those very (untouchable) people is speaking openly, as the holder of the highest office in the judiciary of the country". "This is what the Constitution of India did. It told the people of India that they belong, that they can speak for themselves, and that they have an equal place in every sphere of society and power," he said, adding that it was possible because the prime architect of the Constitution, Dr B R Ambedkar, made inclusivity and equality the bedrock of constitutional values and guarantees.
