Bhupendra Patel sworn in as Gujarat Chief Minister
Gandhinagar, (PTI): Bhupendra Patel will continue as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for a second straight term with the newly-elected MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) electing him as leader of the legislative party on Saturday.
After the meeting, Patel met Governor Acharya Devvrat at Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form a government, two days after the BJP won a record mandate in the Assembly elections by winning 156 out of the total 182 seats.
The Governor invited Patel to form government and take oath at 2 pm on Monday.
Patel will take oath as the 18th chief minister of Gujarat at a function at the Helipad ground near the new secretariat in Gandhinagar on December 12.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with the chief ministers of other BJP-ruled states would attend the swearing-in function, party sources said.
Meanwhile, hectic consultations were underway for picking ministers of the new government.
Patel and state BJP chief C R Paatil flew to Delhi in the evening and were expected to hold consultations with the top leadership of the party including prime minister Modi, Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda.
MLAs Kanu Desai, Raghavji Patel, Rishikesh Patel, Harsh Sanghavi, Shankar Chaudhary, Purnesh Modi, Manisha Vakil and Raman Patkar are among those expected to be inducted in the ministry.
The BJP would try to balance caste and regional representations while picking ministers, party sources said.
Addressing a press conference after the legislative party meeting at the state BJP headquarters 'Kamalam', Bhupendra Patel said the implementation of promises made in the manifesto, including a Uniform Civil Code, will be the priority of his government.
"The newly-elected MLAs met today at 'Kamalam' where the proposal to name Bhupendra Patel as chief minister of Gujarat was unanimously approved," the BJP said in a statement.
Patel's name was proposed by MLA Kanu Desai and supported by Shankar Chaudhary, Purnesh Modi, Manisha Vakil, Raman Patkar and the party's chief whip Pankaj Desai.
Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, B S Yediyurappa and Arjun Munda were present at the meeting as the party's central observers.
"Rajnath Singh then announced that Patel will continue as the leader of the BJP legislative party. Singh praised Patel's soft and determined nature and his style of working during his (previous) tenure as chief minister. He said the public as well as party legislators liked Patel's nature and (the legislators) announced his name unanimously," BJP leader Bharat Pandya told reporters.
The BJP won the seventh straight term in Gujarat in the two-phase election held on December 1 and 5.
"Gujarat has once again put its stamp of approval on the leadership and politics of development of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and put faith in the Bharatiya Janata Party," Patel told reporters.
Patel's winning margin of 1.92 lakh in Ghatlodia Assembly seat in Ahmedabad district was the highest in the state.
"PM Modi's commitment to take Gujarat into the league of developed nations (to bring the state's development on par with developed countries) will be realised by all the MLAs and state BJP chief C R Paatil. The government and party will work effectively under the guidance of PM Modi and Amit Shah," he said.
"We have formed a committee (on Uniform Civil Code) and we will act on its recommendations. The BJP has not left a single promise unfulfilled and it has resolved pending issues like (abrogation of) Article 370 and (construction of ) Ram Mandir (in Ayodhya)," he said when asked about the BJP's poll promise to implement a UCC.
The BJP had also promised to set up an 'anti-radicalisation Cell' to identify and eliminate terror threats.
Patel, 60, resigned as chief minister along with his entire cabinet on Friday to pave the way for the formation of a new government following the election results.
A low-profile leader and the first from the Kadva Patidar sub-group to become CM, Patel had replaced Vijay Rupani in September 2021. PTI KA PD NSK NP KRK
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4% quota for Muslim contractors: BJP to challenge K'taka's 'unconstitutional move' in court
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Mar 17 (PTI): The BJP on Monday termed the Karnataka government’s proposal to provide four per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts an "unconstitutional misadventure" and said it will oppose the move at all levels, including challenging it in court, until it is rolled back.
The ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP hit out at each other over the issue in the Assembly.
Earlier on Friday, the Cabinet approved an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, reserving four per cent of contracts for Muslims in civil works valued up to Rs two crore and goods/services contracts up to Rs one crore.
"The BJP firmly opposes the proposed unconstitutional move and demands that the Siddaramaiah government immediately roll it back," BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who represents the Bangalore South Lok Sabha seat, told a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
He alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led government’s decision was a "calculated move" to appease Muslims, "at the direction and patronage of the Congress top leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi."
"This patently unconstitutional and prima facie illegal act will be challenged in court. The BJP will fight against the move both inside the Assembly and on the streets. We will also raise the issue in Parliament and protest outside it," Surya said.
The BJP MP said that the Karnataka government’s move is a threat to national integrity, unity, and sovereignty.
"We will fight and oppose this in the courtroom. We will take the fight to the people of Karnataka. Until this unconstitutional move is rolled back, the BJP’s fight will continue," he added.
Meanwhile, in the Karnataka Assembly, the ruling Congress and the BJP once again sparred on Monday over the budgetary provision of four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts.
The Congress rejected the BJP’s allegation that religion-based reservation is "against constitutional provisions."
Defending the reservation, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists are citizens of this country.
"We have concerns for minorities and backward communities. When the BJP says it wants to take everyone along, let it appoint Christian and Muslim ministers. Only then does BJP state president B Y Vijayendra have the right to speak about equality. Let him read the state anthem written by Kuvempu—then he will understand what makes Karnataka a peaceful garden," Shivakumar told reporters.
Hitting back at Shivakumar, Vijayendra said that it was the BJP government, not the Congress, that had appointed Dr A P J Abdul Kalam as the President of India.
"We appointed Najma Heptulla, Justice Abdul Nazeer, and Arif Mohammed Khan as governors. Musician Ustad Bismillah Khan was bestowed with the Bharat Ratna by the BJP government," Vijayendra told reporters.
According to him, Congress's appeasement politics is not new.
He questioned the Congress party’s concern for Dalits, asking where it was when its MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy’s house was "torched by Muslim hooligans".
The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, claimed that several Supreme Court judgments have stated that there is no provision in the Constitution for religion-based reservations.
"Yet, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wore a ‘topi’ (skull cap), organised Tipu Jayanti, and introduced Shaadi Bhagya (launched in 2013, it provides financial assistance to economically backward minority women). He gave grants to Muslims beyond what they had asked for. Now, by offering four per cent reservation in contracts to Muslims, the Congress government has made an assault on Hindus," he alleged.
Ashoka argued that there had never been a religion-based contract system in Karnataka, but the government had introduced one, which could lead to conflicts between communities.
In the Karnataka Legislative Council, Leader of the Opposition, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy raised the issue.
He said that religion-based reservation is "not allowed under the Constitution."
"You have granted four per cent reservation to Muslims in contracts. We oppose religion-based reservations. I urge the government through you not to implement it," he stated.
Countering him, Congress MLA B K Hariprasad asserted that the reservation aligns with constitutional provisions.
