Karnataka tables contentious Muslim quota bill; BJP vows to challenge legally
By : Sandhya
Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opposed the Karnataka government's bill, which was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, calling for a 4% reservation for Muslims in public contracts. The BJP has called the bill unconstitutional and has threatened to take it to court.
In the House, the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was introduced by H K Patil, the minister of law and parliamentary affairs. In order to coincide with the Muslim quota proposal revealed in the state budget for 2025–2026, the Bill aims to amend the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act, 1999. It is anticipated that the bill will be discussed on Wednesday.
The amendment, which reserves 4% of civil works contracts up to ₹2 crore and goods and services contracts up to ₹1 crore for Muslims, was approved by the State Cabinet earlier on Friday. Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) currently have a 24% reservation in public contracts, followed by Other Backward Classes (OBC) Category 1 at 4% and OBC Category 2A at 15% in Karnataka. The extension of a comparable 4% quota to Muslims under Category 2B of the OBC classification had been repeatedly demanded.