The Congress-led Karnataka government has kicked off a row with its latest proposal of giving 4 per cent reservation for Muslim contractors in government tenders of value up to Rs 1 crore.
The state is likely to introduce this reservation through an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act, like it already exists for contractors from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe.
Even before the government can come forward with the formal proposal of amendment it has been hit by an avalanche of criticism from the BJP, with its state president B Y Vijayendra accusing the Congress of indulging in “appeasement politics”. The Congress government perceives minorities as only Muslims ignoring other genuinely underrepresented minority communities, the BJP leader said.
Earlier Muslims may have been a minority, today they are well-organised and stay in the forefront, the BJP state president said.
It is clear that Muslims are a significant vote bank for the Congress and this is why the party gave reservations in jobs and education, against the spirit of the Constitution. It is the same appeasement tactics at work in this reservation for contractors, Vijayendra alleged.
Demanding that the government withdraw this proposal immediately, the BJP state unit chief said the move would divide society and the state along religious lines. His party colleague and MLA Mahesh Tenginkai said after Congress came to power two years ago, the influence of muslims and alleged that the Hubli incident happened only because of the muslims.
Predictably, the Congress defended the decision saying that it aimed to provide equal opportunities to all disadvantaged sections of the society. Congress MLA Rizwan said, “We believe in giving equal opportunities for every minority community, particularly the weaker sections of society. It’s not for huge contracts. Small contractors should also get Rs 50 lakh. Small contracts should be available for the multiple small minorities also.”
The Congress MLA said that the contracting business is dominated by the upper class. And the Congress government is providing opportunities to the disadvantaged people from various sections like backward classes and Dalits.
Every small disempowered and marginalised community should be given this opportunity, and which is why the Congress is thinking of this 4 percent reservation for Muslim contractors.
At present, the proposal is before the cabinet for discussion, and it is expected to clear it, the government sources said.