Amid criticism from the Congress-led Opposition over reservation to Vokkaligas and Lingayats, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said everything will be clear “when the final report is out”, and injustice will not be done to any community.
Everything will be crystal clear once the final order regarding the reservation is out. The government has already explained everything in its interim order and data will appear in the final report.After that, it will be discussed,” Bommai said while talking to reporters in Hubballi on Sunday.

“The government has already accepted the interim report without causing any problems for the Backward Classes as they had been backward in the fields of education and employment. If needed, a clarification will be issued. Injustice will not be done to any community,” the chief minister said.

Earlier, the Karnataka unit of Congress had called the state cabinet’s decision of creating two new Other Backward Class (OBC) categories for Vokkaligas and Lingayats to grant reservation a “political gimmick” ahead of the assembly elections in the state next year.
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Siddaramaiah had said that the state’s decision was taken for political gains and questioned the government as to how they will implement it as it includes addressing several constitutional and legal aspects.

Responding to Siddaramaiah’s remarks, Bommai said, “The leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah… while his party was in power, did not fulfil these demands. Since the incumbent government is doing everything, it has become a problem for them. Everything will be clear when the final report is submitted. Everything will be fine within the ambit of the Constitution.”

KPCC president DK Shivakumar had also called the announcement a ploy by the government to provide reservation be scooping 10% from the EWS quota. “They are taking Karnataka into a litigation on reservation. Let them bring a Constitutional amendment and bring it under the Ninth Schedule. They could not do this. Just sending out a notification is not enough,” Shivakumar had said.

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday, agreed to carve out two new categories for Lingayats and Vokkaligas, whose reservation demands will be met by out of a portion of the 10% Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota. The government has not yet announced the exact percentage of reservations that will be allotted to these groups. The decision was based on the recommendations of Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes.

Henceforth, the Vokkaligas who come under 3A category, will now be placed under 2C. The Veerashaiva-Lingayats, who are under 3B now, will be put in 2D. The existing 3A and 3B categories will be done away with. The government said that the reservation of the two communities will continue as before – 4% for Vokkaligas under 2C and 5% for Lingayats under 2D.
The Panchamasali Lingayats, who are said to be socially backward among other Lingayat sects, have been demanding to be included in 2A (15%) of the OBC reservation matrix and the Vokkaligas were demanding 12% reservation. Over a lakh members of the Panchamasali community had held a protest at Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi recently. Vokkaligas in the state have also stepped up their demand to increase reservation for their community.

Law minister JC Madhuswamy, while announcing the decision on Thursday, had said that the new categories won’t affect the reservation provided to other communities. He said the population eligible for EWS quota was around 4% and after giving adequate quota to them, the government will redistribute the remaining portion of the EWS under 2C and 2D.Will get more clarity after final report is out: Bommai on reservation