Fresh reservation announced for the Muslim community in the Karnataka budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday has triggered a row with the Opposition BJP accusing the government of indulging in appeasement politics. Siddaramaiah, who presented a 4.09 lakh crore budget, announced that under the provisions of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act, reservation will be provided to contractors from Category 2B – Muslims – in government contracts below Rs 2 crore. Similarly, reservation will be offered to suppliers from the Muslim community in procurement of goods and services by various government departments. This reservation was in addition to the one already provided to members of the Scheduled Classes/Scheduled Tribes community during Siddaramaiah’s first tenure as chief minister, along with the reservation announced to Category 1 and Category 2A by the government last year. The inclusion of the 2B category came after Muslim legislators petitioned Siddaramaiah to extend the benefit to contractors from the community, during a meeting held last year. In his budget speech, Siddaramaiah said, “Under the provisions of Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act, the reservation provided to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Category-I, Category-IIA and Category-IIB contractors in works will be increased to Rs 2 crore. Under the provisions of Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act, reservation will be provided in procurement of goods and services under various Government departments, corporations and institutions to suppliers belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Category-I, Category-IIA and Category-IIB up to Rs 1 crore.” The announcement did not sit well with the saffron party. BJP legislator V Sunil Kumar slammed the decision, asking whether more proof was required for the “anti-Hindu stance of Siddaramaiah government”. He also alleged that Siddaramaiah was giving special priority to Muslims behind the scenes for a long time. “This is a divide-and-rule policy of the financial expert,” he tweeted, taking a dig at Siddaramaiah. The Karnataka BJP, meanwhile, posted an edited photo of Siddaramaiah with a skull cap and claimed that he had presented a ‘Halal Budget’ and that appeasement was at its peak. Listing out various programmes announced to the community, including the Rs 50,000 assistance for Muslim simple marriages, the party alleged that nothing was provided to the SC/ST and the Other Backward Classes communities in the budget.
