Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jul 31: "Families which have reaped the benefit of reservation should allow the facility to be utilized by families which have been deprived of social justice. Otherwise, the concept of doing justice to the downtrodden, which is the aspiration of the constitution, gets defeated," felt retired Karnataka Lokayukta, Justice N Santosh Hegde.

He was speaking after releasing the work, 'Balitha Dalithara Thulitha, Nanna Jana Anaatha', authored by social campaigner, Dr Chi Na Ramu, at a function organized at Bharatiya Vidyabhavan here on Monday July 30.

"The concept of reservation was implemented through the constitution with the aim of providing social, educational, and economic facilities to people who were deprived since hundreds of years. But the families which have availed of reservation facility once should give up the facility for other families. But availing of these facilities repeatedly by the same families go against the intention of the constitution," he stated.

"When Ambedkar placed the proposal for extending reservation facility, he had said that it would be enough if this facility is given for ten years. He felt that within the first ten years, all the Dalit families would be able to avail the facilities. But if we examine this against the current situation, a question as to whether the reservation facility is created to benefit those who are financially sound," he added.

Justice Hegde said that it has been 67 years since the republic system came into being but benefit of social justice continues to be elusive for lacs of Dalit families. "This supports the notion that the very purpose of reservation has been lost. The inequalities can be removed only when every family gets benefit of the reservation facility," he felt.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Chi Na Ramu, noted that Congress leader, Mallikarjun Kharge, has become MLA nine times, and MP twice by availing of benefit of reservation. "He represented reserved constituency for 50 years and again made his son an MLA by using the same facility. Do you think Kharge, who is financially well off, is in need of reservation?" he quipped. At the same time, he said that when the question of Dalit chief minister comes, party leaders seek this post on the basis of seniority, and felt that the Dalits who have become strong in all aspects, have become stumbling blocks for the proper implementation of reservation facility.

Retired Supreme Court judge, Justice V Gopal Gowda, retired judge, K Sridhar Rao, former union minister, Sanjay Paswan, Neerakallu Shivakumar, and others were present.