There are no plans for having reservations for Muslim in jobs, the government said in a statement on Thursday in response to the allegations by the opposition that the Congress was planning to allocate 4% quota for Muslim contractors in public work projects valued up to ₹1 crore.
“Reports have been published in some media that a proposal to give reservations to Muslims in jobs is before the government,” the chief minister’s office said in a statement stated. It said that there have been demands for Muslim reservations, adding, “However, it has been clarified that there is no proposal before the government in this regard.”
The 4% quota, which would fall under Category-2B, would have had pushed overall reservation for public works contracts to 47%. Karnataka’s current allocation reserves 43% of government contracts for specific social groups: 24% for SC/ST contractors, 4% for Category-1 OBCs, and 15% for Category-2A OBCs.
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Leader of opposition in the state assembly R Ashoka said: “Siddaramaiah’s political secretary, Naseer Ahmed, along with housing and waqf minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan and other Muslim MLAs, had submitted a letter on August 24, requesting a 4% reservation in contracts for Muslims.”
He further said that Siddaramaiah had instructed the finance department to review the proposal the same day, reportedly also endorsing amendments to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act related to this matter.
“You approved an amendment to the KTPP Act regarding this matter. Despite all these letters and approvals, you lie, claiming there’s no proposal for Muslim reservation in contracts before the government,” he said.
“Do you have any sense of integrity or ethics?” Ashoka charged, accusing the CM of misleading public by denying that a proposal for Muslim reservation in contracts exists.
The proposal has also sparked concerns among certain communities, including Vokkaligas and Lingayats, who said that it could upset existing allocations. Representatives from these groups have called upon the Karnataka state contractors association to seek a more comprehensive review of the reservation policy, said an official in the know of the development.
HT tried to get comment from the representatives but could not get any response on the matter.
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Union home minister Amit Shah also weighed in on the controversy during a rally in Jharkhand, criticising Congress’s support for religion-based reservations. He said: “Congress talks about reservation, but in our constitution, there is no such provision to give reservation based on religion.”
He pointed out similar demands made in Maharashtra, claiming that Congress’s support for Muslim quotas would harm quotas meant for OBCs, Dalits, and Tribals. “As long as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is there, minorities will not get reservation in this country,” he said, positioning Congress as overly favourable to minority interests.
Adding to the tension surrounding the reservation discussion, the Karnataka State SC/ST Contractors Association has separately appealed to chief minister Siddaramaiah to raise the tender reservation cap for SC/ST contractors from ₹1 crore to ₹2 crore. The departments of social welfare and public works have endorsed the proposal, which is currently under review by the finance department, said the above-mentioned official.