Karnataka counters PM's EWS quota with Brahmin board

BENGALURU: Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Karnataka cabinet has decided to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 10% reservation for the upper caste poor by forming its own Brahmin Development Board in the state for the community.
A promise made by JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda prior to the 2018 assembly elections, the board has come in handy for the JD(S)-Congress coalition government to woo the BJP Brahmin vote bank in the state.Brahmins make up 3% of Karnataka's population .
While the coalition regime has remained silent on the implementation of the 10% quota in government jobs for the economically weaker section (EWS) of the upper castes, it has said the primary intention of the state government is to provide social and economic stability to Brahmins in the state. "The government has decided to set up the Brahmin Development Board and initiate a series of schemes for providing more opportunities for the economically weaker sections of the community in education, jobs and social commitments," rural development and panchayat raj minister Krishna Byregowda said after the cabinet meeting.
The board will initiate schemes to provide education to the underprivileged from the community, sanction educational loans, provide healthcare assistance for those who cannot afford it and grant pensions to widows and the elderly, among other social commitments. "The board will also undertake mass marriages and provide financial assistance to hold mass upananyanas (thread ceremonies)," he said .