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.
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Rajnath urges Netherlands counterpart to ensure Dutch firms don't provide weapons, tech to Pak
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI): Conveying his concern over cross-border terrorism, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday urged his counterpart from the Netherlands, Ruben Berkelmans, to ensure that Dutch companies do not provide weapons, platforms or technology to Pakistan, sources said.
The two leaders held discussions here on broad range of subjects including Indo-Pacific and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
After the meeting, Singh in a post on X said they looked forward to "further deepen and elevate" the bilateral defence partnership.
During the meeting, Singh conveyed his concern over cross-border terrorism that has emanated from Pakistan over the last several decades due to which India has suffered, the sources said.
He urged Berkelmans to ensure that Dutch companies do not provide weapons, platforms or technology to Pakistan, they said.
It is learnt that Singh also conveyed that providing platforms or technology to Pakistan is potentially detrimental to peace and stability in the region.
The defence ministry here in a statement said the two ministers explored the possibilities of collaboration in shipbuilding, equipment and space sectors, optimising the complementariness in skills, technology and scale of the two countries.
"Delighted to meet the young and dynamic Defence Minister of Netherlands, Mr. Ruben Berkelmans in New Delhi. We reviewed the full range of India-Netherlands defence cooperation. We look forward to further deepen and elevate our defence partnership. The areas of our discussion included defence, cyber security, Indo-Pacific and emerging technologies like AI," Singh said in his post on X.
The two leaders discussed elevating the bilateral cooperation in areas like defence, security, information exchanges, Indo-Pacific and new and emerging technologies, the statement said.
They also discussed working together in domains like AI and related technologies, besides connecting the respective defence technology research institutes and organisations, it said.
Delighted to meet the young and dynamic Defence Minister of Netherlands, Mr. Ruben Berkelmans in New Delhi. We reviewed the full range of India-Netherlands defence cooperation.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 18, 2025
We look forward to further deepen and elevate our defence partnership. The areas of our discussion… pic.twitter.com/S4x1bXk81n
