As apprehended, the controversial move of the Karnataka government to give religion-based reservations in government contracts to Muslims has been referred to the President, which the Congress government now wants to move to the Supreme Court for help on the bill passed by the state assembly.
Emboldened by the Supreme Court verdict on Tamil Nadu governor’s delaying tactics on important Bills passed by the state legislature, the Karnataka government is contemplating a similar move to challenge the actions of the governor in the apex court, especially after he sent the reservations Bill to the President for his assent.
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The Governor has reserved the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which proposes a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in government civic contracts, for the President’s assent, citing potential constitutional hurdles.
A S Ponnanna, chief minister’s legal advisor and MLA, hinted at moving the courts against the governor, not just with reference to this one case but also with respect to his behaviour that seems similar to the governors in Kerala and West Bengal. “Wherever there is a non-BJP government, the BJP is working through the governor’s office. This is a very bad precedent, and even after the judgement of the Supreme Court in the state of Tamil Nadu’s case, our Governor’s behaviour in this manner is unacceptable,” he added.
“We are being constrained to move to the Supreme Court,” he lamented.
Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad describes it as a political conspiracy as the governor works like an agent of the BJP. This particular reservation, under the Constitution, has been given to the backward classes, and the Backward Classes Commission has included Muslims in this category, the Congress MLA said to explain why the move was perfectly legal.
However, according to the governor, this Bill violates the principles of equality and that the Constitution does not allow reservations under religious grounds.
Ever since the Karnataka Congress government enacted the legislation, the BJP ecosystem has mounted a sharp attack on it for what it called minority appeasement politics. The attack was naturally led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, charging the Congress government with snatching the rights of the SCs, STs, and the Other Backward Castes (OBCs). And the Congress also stands guilty of betraying the architect of the Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar, Prime Minister said, a line being echoed by all the BJP leaders.
