Accusing the Congress government of “cheating” the Scheduled Tribe community by reducing their reservation quota, the BJP has decided to launch a public campaign against it in this regard.

Disclosing this at a press conference here on Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok said the BJP was holding consultations with affected communities as part of efforts to build a Statewide campaign by involving them.

He pointed out that the erstwhile BJP dispensation led by Basavaraj Bommai had increased the reservation for SCs from 15% to 17% and STs from 3% to 7%, based on their population. This had been done to provide a fair level of reservation for these oppressed communities to ensure social justice, he said.

But the Congress government had “hatched a conspiracy” against these communities and reduced the reservation level for STs to the earlier level of 3%, he said and described it as betraying the oppressed communities.

Referring to the claims of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of being pro-Dalit, he wondered if reducing reservation for Dalits was a pro-Dalit measure.

Expressing concern that Scheduled Tribe communities would have to struggle for many more years to get their reservation quantum increased again, he urged the government to immediately restore their reservation to the earlier 7%.

Bidadi township

Opposing the government’s moves to build a township in Bidadi by acquiring about 9,600 acres of land there, Mr. Ashok alleged that the township project was taken up only to “loot” by using 3,000 acres of government land for real-estate purpose.

Pointing out that the land proposed to be acquired for the township project was a fertile one, he demanded that the interests of farmers should not be sacrificed for real-estate ambitions of powerful people.

Claiming that already seven lakh flats in Bengaluru were lying vacant, he questioned the need for acquiring such large tracts of land to build a township.