BJP has severely condemned the Karnataka government’s move to introduce 4 percent reservation for Muslim contractors in public tenders under Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act. The political debate got heated up when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the move on the floor of the state assembly while presenting the state budget on March 7.
Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also accused Congress of indulging in vote bank politics at a press conference in Delhi on Saturday. Gandhi, however, claimed that the decision was made after the ‘full patronage and approval’ of Rahul Gandhi. “Siddaramaiah does not hence have the courage nor the political capital to introduce such a policy on his own.” Prasad said this is clearly competitive vote bank politics.”
This is picking up 4 per cent of public works contracts for Muslim contractors under the Category II B classification. The process was cleared in a cabinet meeting at Vidhan Soudha and will be put through formally as a change to the KTPP Act. However, the BJP has objected to the precedent that such a policy could set.
The Congress’s approach to reservations was cast in doubt by Prasad who cautioned that it could have implications beyond reservations. “What will be the limit of this appeasement politics?” He asked: “Will Muslims have separate queues for reservations of movies and train tickets? According to him, reservations should be based on economic need and not on religious identity.:
Prasad also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Vietnam. On the occasion of New Year and Holi, Rahul Gandhi visited Vietnam. He should not be going on foreign trips that often while being the Leader of the Opposition, as that should be the time he must spend on his work, including his constituency — Rae Bareli, he added.
However, the Karnataka government has defended its decision saying it aims to provide equitable opportunities.
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