Davanagere: Chief minister Siddaramaiah Monday urged the Centre to increase reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) based on their population and include the proposal in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. Speaking at the Shri Maharshi Valmiki Fair–2026 in Harihar taluk, the CM said his govt will formally write to the Centre and will urge it to ensure equality in employment, education and socio-economic justice. He also took a dig at BJP for not implementing a law first enacted by Karnataka to allocate funds in proportion to the population of SCs and STs. “We implemented Karnataka Scheduled Castes Sub-Allocation and Tribal-Sub Allocation (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act, 2013, to allocate funds in proportion to the population of SCs and STs, and that legislation was upheld by the Supreme Court,” Siddaramaiah said. “The law mandates that the govt allocate a share of the total budget for SC and ST welfare. It roughly translates to 17.1% for SCs and 6.9% for STs — totalling nearly 24.1%, and provides for planning, monitoring and auditing mechanisms, including social audits, to ensure effective use of funds.” He said Karnataka was among three states — Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the others — to implement the law, but none of the BJP-governed states have such a law. He said the previous BJP govt in Karnataka spent Rs 1.1 lakh crore in four years on SC/ST welfare, while his govt has spent Rs 1.2 lakh crore in three years. He said a record Rs 42,018 crore was allocated under the scheme for 2025-26. He said the law also provides reservations for SC and ST contractors in govt contracts and for govt employees in promotions. Meanwhile, Satish Jarkiholi, public works minister, urged the state govt to strengthen govt hospitals and schools, pointing out that many SC and ST children study there. He said schools are facing a shortage of teachers. “Good facilities in govt hospitals will be convenient for people,” he said.
