4% quota for Muslims: Bill passed amid vociferous protests by BJP

Congress member B.K. Hariprasad in the Legislative Council in Bengaluru on Friday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Amidst protest by the Opposition BJP and JD(S) members and a strong defence by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2025, that provides for 4% reservation to contractors from Muslim community in public works was passed in both Houses of the Legislature on Friday. The Opposition later in the day petitioned Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, requesting him to not clear the Bill.

While the BJP opposed the Bill, pointing to the lack of Constitutional provisions to support religion based reservation, the Congress argued that reservation was based on socio-economic backwardness and not religion. The community is under category 2-B of the Karnataka’s backward classes reservation matrix, and the Bill seeks to provide reservation to 2-B category.

The Bill was passed in the Assembly without discussion amidst dharna by the Opposition, and it was passed in the Council amidst protest by the Opposition, who after taking part in the discussion trooped into the Well seeking withdrawal of the Bill. They even tore copies of the Bill and hurled them in air in the Council.

The Bill generated intense discussion – often taking communal colour – during the discussion in the Council. BJP member C.T. Ravi said the Constitution does not provide for religion-based reservation, and that leaders such as B.R. Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel had opposed this in the Constituent Assembly. “Do you have population data and backwardness to justify the reservation? We have no issues in providing reservation to backward communities among the Muslims, but an entire religious group cannot be given reservation,” he said.

Congress member B.K. Hariprasad said that the spirit of the Constitution and fundamental rights need to be understood to understand the spirit of the Bill. It was needed to bring the community to the mainstream, said the member. Congress member Ivan D’Souza suggested that other minorities such as Jains, Christians, and Sikhs could also be moved to category 2-B to avail benefit.

Mr. Siddaramaiah, in his reply to the debate on the State Budget, had said that the Human development Index brought out by the previous BJP government in 2022 clearly indicated lower socio-economic indicators in health, education, housing, and other parameters for Muslims.

Muslims constituted 15% of the State population and ₹4,514 crore had been set aside for the welfare of minorities in the Budget, which constituted 1.1% of the Budget size, he said.

Referring to the Supreme Court ruling, he said Muslims are socially and educationally backward and do not have adequate representation in the civil service.