Bengaluru: The Congress-led Karnataka government is considering introducing a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in civil contracts, similar to the reservation provided for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes. The move has drawn strong criticism from the BJP, which has accused the ruling party of engaging in "appeasement politics" and leading the state towards unrest.
State BJP President B. Y. Vijayendra slammed the proposal, calling it unconstitutional and divisive. He accused the Congress of fostering discord and questioned whether the party believed only Muslims constituted a minority. He argued that various other marginalised communities, such as Madivala and Savita, also required support but were being overlooked. According to him, the Congress government was focused solely on Muslim appeasement while failing to uplift other disadvantaged groups.
The Siddaramaiah-led government is set to amend the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, 1999, with the Finance Department already preparing a blueprint for the changes. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H. K. Patil has reportedly given his approval. The matter is expected to be discussed in the cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening, with a plan to introduce the bill in the upcoming Budget session if it gets clearance.
Vijayendra further alleged that the Congress government had not allocated funds for legislators and questioned the effectiveness of the proposed reservation when no tenders had been called or work allotted. He insisted that reservation policies should align with constitutional principles and benefit all marginalised communities rather than be granted based on religion.
He also pointed out that Muslims already have reservations in education and employment, arguing that extending the policy to government contracts would be an extreme form of appeasement. He stressed that if the policy were designed to benefit all minority communities, the BJP would not oppose it.
The Congress government had previously amended the KTPP Act to provide 24.01 per cent reservation for oppressed communities in government tenders up to Rs 50 lakh, later extending it in March 2023 to contracts up to Rs 1 crore. A delegation of Muslim legislators and community leaders had earlier submitted a memorandum to CM Siddaramaiah demanding reservation in government contracts. While the government initially considered the proposal, it had backtracked due to controversy.
Vijayendra maintained that reservations must be implemented transparently and should support genuinely oppressed communities in accordance with the constitutional framework set by B. R. Ambedkar. He accused the Congress of failing to introduce meaningful initiatives for traditional occupational communities struggling in the face of technological advancements, stating that the ruling party’s policies were politically motivated rather than aimed at real empowerment.
With IANS inputs