Karanatak CM HD Kumaraswamy. (TOI)

BENGALURU: The state cabinet on Thursday decided to counter prime minister Narendra Modi ’s reservation politics of 10% reservation for the upper caste by forming its own Brahmin development board in the state for the community.

Promised by JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda prior to the 2018 assembly elections, the JD(S)-Congress coalition government found it an opportune time to hit the BJP Brahmin votebank in the state with the formation of the board.

While the coalition regime has remained quite on the implementation of the 10 % quota in government jobs for the economically weaker section of the upper caste, it has said the primary intention of the state government is to provide social and economic stability for the Brahmins in the state.

Brahmins constitute close to 4% of the Karnataka population and play a key role in at least two of the 28 Lok Sabha segments across 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 section of the community in the sphere of education, jobs and social committments,” said RDPR minister Krishna Byregowda, who was briefing the media after the cabinet meeting.

The schemes to be taken up by the board will include providing education to the underprivileged from the community, give educational loans, provide health care assistance for those who cannot afford it, pensions for the widows and old aged and other social committments.

“The board will also be undetaking mass marriages and provide financial assistances to hold mass upananyanas,” said Byregowda.

For the purpose of setting up the board, the government has provided a seed fund of Rs 25 crore and has brought it under the revenue department.

The revenue department, incidentally, is held by a Brahmin minister R V Deshpande.

Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had in fact announced the setting up of a Brahmin development board in his first budget in 2018 but had not announced the decision till date.

