4% Muslim quota in tenders: Karnataka Governor sends Bill to President

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Wednesday reserved for presidential assent the Congress government’s Bill to introduce a 4 per cent quota for Muslims in contracts to “avoid more Constitutional complications”.

Gehlot move came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an event in Haryana earlier this week, attacked the Congress government for reservation in tenders on the basis of religion by "snatching away" the rights of SC/STs and OBCs.

The Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (Amendment) Bill 2025 was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on March 18 to introduce 4% reservation for Muslims in public contracts.

The Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (Amendment) Bill 2025 was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on March 18 to introduce 4% reservation for Muslims in public contracts. On March 14, the State Cabinet had approved an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act, reserving 4% of contracts for Muslims in civil works valued up to Rs 2 crore, and goods and services contracts up to Rs 1 crore.

It also aims to carve out a 4% reservation for Category II(B)—one that happens to consist entirely of backward castes from a certain minority community in the state - from amongst the overall %age of contracts reserved for other backward castes (OBCs); that too, without imposing without any income limits on bidders from various categories.

These changes taken together have led to substantial discomfort and heartburn in the political sphere, both within the state and more importantly, at the national as well. It also aims to speed up the implementation of local projects, such as water supply schemes, school construction, and urban development. It also seeks to reduce bureaucratic delays in approving tenders for small-scale infrastructure projects.

“The Constitution of India does not permit reservation based on religion, as it violates the principles of equality (Article 14), non-discrimination (Article 15) and equal opportunity in public employment (Article 16),” Gehlot stated in his communication to the government. In March 2023, the previous BJP government withdrew the 4 per cent reservation under Category-2B. This, Gehlot pointed out, has been challenged in and stayed by the Supreme Court where the case is pending.