Karnataka clears Bill to provide 4% reservation to Muslims: What does it say and why there is controversy around it?

The Karnataka state assembly on Friday passed a bill to provide 4 percent reservation to Muslims under Category-2B in public contracts amid strong protests by the Opposition BJP.

Later, 18 BJP MLAs were suspended for six months from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Friday for "disrespecting" Speaker U T Khader. The MLAs climbed onto the podium and threw papers at him.

Meanwhile, Karnataka’s deputy CM D K Shivakumar defended the government’s move while accusing the BJP of pursuing divisive politics.

“Be it Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or Buddhists, they are all citizens of our country and state. We are concerned about all minorities and backward communities,” he said.

What does the bill say?

The bill provides 4 percent reservation to the Muslim community in public contracts below Rs 2 crore and for procurement of goods and services below Rs 1 crore through various government departments.

This is in addition to the reservation provided to contractors from the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The Bill that was presented in the Assembly further amends the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, 1999.

What were the provisions earlier?

Previously, Karnataka provided 24 percent reservations in civil works contracts for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), 4 percent for Other Backward Classes (OBC) Category 1, and 15 percent for OBC Category 2A. There had been demands to include Muslims under Category 2B of the OBCs with a 4 percent quota.

A section of small contractors from the minority community had also complained earlier alleging that tenders were not being awarded to them despite being eligible to carry out the works.

What has the BJP said?

Accusing the Congress government of resorting to “appeasement politics”, state BJP chief Vijayendra said in a post on X on Sunday, “4% today, 100% tomorrow. This is the new ‘sarkari jihad’ that the Siddaramaiah government is imposing on Hindus and ensuring systematic discrimination against the SCs, STs and OBCs.”

“It would not be wrong to say that the current administration is a reincarnation of Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan’s court where anything anti-Hindu gets ratified instantly,” he added.