K’taka govt mulls 4 pc reservation to Muslims in tenders; BJP calls it appeasement politics’ peak
Bengaluru: The Congress-led Karnataka government is once again mulling introducing a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in civil contracts on lines with the reservation provided to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Communities and Backward Classes.
Slamming the state government, the BJP said on Wednesday that the move was against the spirit of the Constitution and nothing but the “peak of appeasement politics”.
CM Siddaramaiah-led government is all set to bring an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act 1999. The Finance Department has already prepared the blueprint and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H. K. Patil has also agreed to the amendment, the sources said.
The government is likely to take up the matter in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening and plan to introduce the bill in the Budget session if it is agreed.
State BJP President B. Y. Vijayendra, reacting to the development, stated, “The BJP Karnataka strongly condemns and opposes the Congress government’s policy of dividing society and the state based on religion. We urge the government to withdraw its decision to provide reservations for the Muslim community in government contracts for the sake of appeasement.”
He said the Congress government sees only Muslims as minorities, “ignoring” other genuinely marginalised minority communities.
“Muslims alone have been granted reservations in education and employment based on religion, which goes against the constitutional spirit. Now, the government is planning to introduce a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims even in government contracts, which is the peak of appeasement politics,” Vijayendra charged.
“If it was for all minority communities, we have no objections,” he said.
He demanded that the government schemes be implemented transparently, and reservations should be provided to oppressed communities as per the principles of the Constitution drafted by B. R. Ambedkar.
“However, offering reservations based on religion undermines transparency,” he said.
Claiming that traditional occupational communities that are extremely backward are struggling for survival in the face of modern technological advancements, he said that the Siddaramaiah government has “failed” to introduce any special programmes, schemes, or reservations for them.
Earlier, the Congress government amended the KTTP Act and provided 24.01 per cent reservation for oppressed communities in government tenders up to Rs 50 lakh. It was yet again amended in March 2023 and the limit was extended to contracts up to Rs 1 crore.
The delegation of Muslim legislators and community leaders had earlier submitted a memorandum to CM Siddaramaiah demanding reservation in government contracts for their community. The government mulled over it but backtracked when the matter created controversy.
