The Karnataka government’s decision to provide a 4% reservation in tenders for Muslim contractors has stirred a political storm as the BJP accusing the Congress of “appeasement politics”. BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Sunday in a press briefing that The Karnataka government’s 4% reservation for Muslims has been passed with the full patronage of Rahul Gandhi. We are saying this with full responsibility.
Training his guns at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Prasad pointed out that the Karnataka government’s move was reflective of the “mentality of Rahul Gandhi”. The Siddaramaiah Cabinet on Saturday approved amendments to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act, paving the way for a 4 per cent reservation for Muslim contractors for tenders of up to Rs 1 crore, sparking outrage. BJP’s Prasad said the issue was not limited to Karnataka but had “nationwide implications.”
Prasad said during the freedom struggle, small issues such as separate university, separate electorate led to eventually division of India during independence. Calling it a move that “incentivises religious conversion”, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya took to X and said, “This govt is misusing power, public resources for vote-bank politics and turning our economy into a playground for political opportunism.”
He further said The BJP is against this, and we will keep opposing it… Religion-based reservation is not permissible under the Indian Constitution… Reservation on government contracts is completely unconstitutional. It can be allowed on the basis of social backwardness, but it is not permissible (to provide) directly to a religious community.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, presenting the state budget, said that 4 per cent of all public works contracts under various government departments, agencies and institutions will now be reserved for the Muslim community under Category-II B.