‘People are confused, Siddaramaiah lied for vote bank politics’: BJP’s Narayanaswamy on internal reservation formula

BENGALURU: Opposition leader in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, has rejected the state cabinet’s recent approval of internal reservation, calling the move “unacceptable” and politically motivated.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the BJP leader alleged the Siddaramaiah-led government had promised action based on the Justice Sadashiva committee recommendations before coming to power, but “they weren’t taken into consideration”.

“Before coming to power, they had committed to bringing the Sadashiva committee recommendation into force. But they weren’t taken into consideration. The people of Karnataka are confused which committee report they (Karnataka government) accepted for creating three groups”, Narayanaswamy said.

#WATCH | Bengaluru | On Karnatak Cabinet approving internal reservation, Karnataka Legislative Council LoP & BJP Leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said, “This is unacceptable… Before coming to power, they had committed to bringing the Sadashiva Aayog into force. But they weren’t… pic.twitter.com/MtlccLQpM0

— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2025

He accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of making false promises ahead of elections, claiming, “Before the elections, Siddaramaiah lied to the people of Karnataka for vote bank politics… This was totally a political decision.”

BJP leader C T Ravi also criticised the Karnataka government’s recent internal reservation move, accusing it of doing “social injustice, not social justice”. Ravi said, “They have done social injustice, not social justice. You have only given marginal newness. This has been done to satisfy someone by removing someone else… You have only taken a political decision”.

The reactions come after the Karnataka Cabinet’s move to provide an internal reservation to 101 castes in the state. Karnataka ministers on Tuesday welcomed the Cabinet’s move, saying that people who fought for about 35 years have got justice.

Minister K H Muniyappa called it a “historical decision” and said that the official announcement will be made in the Assembly by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He told reporters, “The Congress government has taken a historical decision… The announcement will be made in the Assembly by the Chief Minister. People who fought for this for the last 35-40 years have got justice. There are 101 castes, and all will get equal benefits according to their population. We are looking into giving justice to the most backwards classes, as included in Justice Nagamohan Das’ report”.

#WATCH | Bengaluru | On internal reservation, Karnataka Minister KH Muniyappa says, “Congress government has taken a historical decision… The announcement will be made in the Assembly by the Chief Minister… People who fought for this for the last 35-40 years have got… pic.twitter.com/IZU7WmtAQ3

— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2025

Minister H C Mahadevappa said, “The cabinet has reviewed the Justice Committee report concerning the central caste list and its modifications, and all interests will be considered. A statement will be made in the Assembly regarding the inclusion of 101 communities in the new grouping”.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Bharath Shetty Y claimed that some Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes have been neglected. “Some parts of the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes have been neglected, so they should be given justice and clear announcements from the government,” Bharath Shetty said.

The Cabinet’s decision followed the 1,766-page survey report on internal reservation submitted to Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah by the Justice Das Commission on August 4. Justice Das said the commission’s report recommends that internal reservation be provided to the Scheduled Caste (SC). (ANI)