Bengaluru: As the ruling Congress in Karnataka remains committed to providing 4 per cent reservation in government tenders to Muslims in the state, the BJP has come down heavily on the decision by the government.
The BJP on Saturday stated that reservation for Muslims in government tenders will have national implications and the party also reminded of such matters leading to the Partition of the country during Independence.
Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, addressing a press conference on Saturday, stated that “The Karnataka government’s 4 per cent reservation for Muslims has been passed with the full patronage of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.”
“We are making this statement with full responsibility,” Prasad said.
“The Karnataka government’s move was reflective of the “mentality of Rahul Gandhi”.
The issue was not limited to Karnataka but had “nationwide implications. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah neither has the courage nor the political capital to announce the reservation on his own. The vote bank politics is at play,” Prasad charged.
“During the freedom struggle, small issues such as separate universities, separate electorate led to eventually division of India during Independence,” emphasised Prasad.
National President of BJP Yuva Morcha and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, taking to social media X, stated, “Cabinet nod by Congress government to hand out 4 per cent of quota for Muslims in government tenders is an attack on the constitution and act of incentivising conversion.”
“Social and economic backwardness, rather than religion, has always been the norm. This new gimmick for electoral gains is equal to undoing the very purpose of reservation,” Surya slammed.
“This government is misusing power, and public resources for vote bank politics and turning our economy into a playground for political opportunism,” Surya stated.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government, Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, said on Saturday that “this step reeks of populism”.
Taking to social media platform X, the Union Minister also charged, saying: “The Congress government in Karnataka is necessarily indulging in anti-constitutional policies. The state government is promoting a single religion due to its vote bank politics and has easily forgotten its duty to protect all communities.”
The Congress government has already pushed the state towards economic distress but now is indulging in such anti-constitutional policies at the cost of the overall development of the state, Union Minister Joshi said.
Congress practised appeasement politics for six decades putting votebank politics above national development, he added.
And even today, Congress is proving that their name is synonymous with appeasement, he underlined.
State BJP President, B.Y. Vijayendra, claimed that Congress was leading the state towards violence.
Hitting out at the Congress-led state government, the State BJP President said: “Does the grand old party think that only Muslims constitute the minority group?”
Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka stated that the Congress government has granted Rs 150 crore for Waqf Property restoration, Rs 500 crore for Urdu Schools, and Rs 1,000 crore for Minority Colony Development. Along with these allocations, reservation has also been provided to Muslims based on religion. However, the Constitution drafted by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar does not permit such provisions, he underlined.
Additionally, Minister Zameer Ahmed has been making efforts to increase reservations. Opposing this, the Jain community is preparing to protest, Ashoka stated.
“Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh communities have been allocated only Rs 10 crore in total. This has been criticised as discrimination within the minority communities,” he stated.
The Karnataka government’s decision to provide a four per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts has stirred a huge controversy. Sources confirmed that the Cabinet has approved the proposal, and a Bill in this regard will be presented before the State Legislature during the ongoing Budget session.
The Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act, 1999, after amendment aims to provide four per cent reservation in tenders to Muslim contractors in government contracts up to Rs 1 crore, sources said.
The State Cabinet has also approved the limit for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) community which has been extended from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore.
Minority leaders had submitted a request to reserve four per cent of contract works for Muslim contractors, similar to the reservations provided for SCs, STs, and Other Backward Communities.
Considering the request, the state government has decided to implement the reservation.
A Cabinet meeting was held under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, where discussions were conducted regarding the introduction of the Bill.
The Karnataka government has been contemplating introducing a four per cent reservation for Muslims in civil contracts on the lines of the reservation provided to the SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes.
(IANS)
