BJP not anti-Muslim, Cong indulging in minority appeasement, says Vijayendra
Bengaluru, Mar 19 (PTI) Strongly opposing the Bill tabled by the Congress government in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, to introduce a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in public contracts, state BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday said that if the situation demands, the party will question it in the High Court.
Calling the Siddaramaiah-led administration as “Tughlaq Durbar”, while also accusing it of indulging in the politics of minority appeasement, he asserted that BJP is not anti-Muslim.
The Karnataka government on Tuesday tabled the ‘Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2025’ in the Legislative Assembly, to introduce a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in public contracts.
The bill reserves for Muslims 4 per cent of contracts in (civil) works valued up to Rs 2 crore, and goods/services procurement contracts up to Rs 1 crore.
“The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government has introduced the bill aimed at giving reservation to Muslims in public contracts. BJP’s stand is very clear. The party clearly opposes Siddaramaiah’s Tughlaq Durbar. We will oppose it both inside and outside the House. If the situation demands, we will question it in the High Court,” Vijayendra said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, there should be limits for maladministration.
“The Congress is practising minority appeasement politics. I want to ask Siddaramaiah and the Congress, if you really care for minorities– you have ruled both in the state and in the country for about 50-55 years since independence — why couldn’t the Congress give them education and bring them forward? It is because they (Congress) never had the will to do it,” he added.
Stating that Siddaramaiah tries to project BJP as anti Muslims, Vijayendra said, the party is not against the minority community. It is the BJP-led government under PM Narendra Modi which ended triple talaq aimed at giving justice to Muslim women in the society.
“The Modi government’s schemes such as opening Jan Dhan accounts, Ujwala and various such programmes, were not given just to Hindus. The BJP government’s programmes are for all citizens of the country. BJP never used the Muslims for vote bank politics like the Congress does,” he said.
“I’m warning the chief minister, there is a limit to your arrogance and to your Tughlaq Durbar. We will not allow this. We will strongly oppose the 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in public contracts,” he said, adding that the party leaders will discuss and decide on legal steps, and also fight both inside and outside the legislature against the government’s move.
The Bill presented on Tuesday further amends the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, 1999, to give effect to the proposal made in the budget speech for the year 2025-26, by Chief Minister Siddararamaiah.
As per the Bill, it aims to overcome the unemployment problem in the backward classes and to encourage their participation in construction works, not exceeding 4 per cent for the persons belonging to the category 2B of backward classes (Muslims), out of the total number of government construction works upto Rs 2 crore.
At present, Karnataka has reservation in civil works contracts for SC/STs (24 per cent) and OBC contractors belonging to Category-1 (4 per cent) and Category-2A (15 per cent).
There were demands to add Muslims under Category-2B of the OBCs with a reservation of 4 per cent.
The Bill further provides for reservation among the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes or backward classes in the procurement of goods and services excluding construction works in the notified departments, the value of which does not exceed Rs 1 crore.
It encourages their participation in such procurement to the extent of Rs 17.5 per cent for persons belonging to SC, 6.95 per cent for the persons belonging to ST, 4 per cent to category 1 of OBC, 15 per cent to category 2A and 4 per cent to category 2B (Muslims).
