The Karnataka Congress chief, DK Shivakumar, reiterated his party’s stance on the Muslim quota, declaring that if Congress is elected to power in the next assembly elections in the state, it will reinstate the quota.
He stated, “As soon as our govt comes, we will cancel the reservation issue and will protect the minority interest,” in response to the BJP eliminating the 4% Muslim quota and transferring it to the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities.
The BJP government in Karnataka abolished the 4% reservation (2B category) for Muslims under the OBC quota and transferred them to the 10% pool for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the final cabinet meeting on 24 March. After removing the 4% Muslim quota, the quota for Lingayats and Vokkaligas was increased by 2% each.
Previously, on March 26, the Congress criticised the BJP-led Karnataka government for abolishing the Muslim quota under Category 2B in the Other Backward Class (OBC) list and promised it would reinstate the same for the minority community if the party wins the state’s upcoming assembly elections in May.
DK Shivakumar referred to the action as ‘unconstitutional’ and charged, “They (BJP government) think that reservation can be distributed like a property. It’s not a property. It’s a right (of Muslims). We don’t want their 4% to be scrapped and given to any of the major communities. They (Muslims) are our brothers and family members.”
“Entire Vokkaligas and Veerashaiva-Lingayats are rejecting this offer,” he claimed. He vowed, “We will scrap all this,” and alleged that there isn’t any justification to remove Muslims from the OBC list. According to the Gandhi loyalist, if Congress wins the election, the first meeting of the Cabinet will resume the quota.
He accused the Basavaraj Bommai administration of trying to stir up emotional matters as BJP is expected to lose the elections.
The leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly, Siddaramaiah, also attacked the BJP administration, blaming it for betraying everyone by causing uncertainty over the reservation issue and separating people based on caste and religion.
He remarked, “The purpose of the Constitution by Ambedkar is to provide equal protection without discrimination based on caste, religion or gender. This is what Article 14 of the Constitution says. Articles 15 and 16 provide for reservation in education and employment.”
“It aims to give special privileges to those deprived of opportunities and bring them into the mainstream. It is only when the socially and educationally backward are brought into the mainstream that we can move towards the establishment of an equal society. This is clearly stated in the Constitution,” the former Karnataka CM added.
Leaders of the Muslim community have proclaimed that they will challenge the govt decision in court. At a meeting on Saturday, the state’s senior Muslim religious officials denounced the move and threatened to pursue legal action.
Maulavi Maqsood Imran, a leader of Jamia Masjid and a representative of the Ulema Council complained, “Today, Muslims are below the SC and ST in terms of education. You can make out from the atrocities being perpetrated against the Muslims.”
In the meanwhile, the Congress released the second list of 41 candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Election 2023 on Thursday and also marked a seat for the regional outfit Sarvodaya Karnataka Party. The announcement was made following the meeting of the Congress Central Election Committee. The Congress had on March 25 announced its first list of 124 candidates, which included names of former CM Siddaramaiah and State Party chief DK Shivakumar.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parliamentary Board would finalise and release the list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state on April 8.
The Assembly election in Karnataka is scheduled to be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.
