Tejasvi Surya blasts Karnataka government over 4% Muslim quota in tenders, calls it a 'threat to the Constitution'

Reacting to the decision, Tejasvi Surya said that reservations in India have always been based on social and economic backwardness rather than religion.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has strongly criticized the Congress-led Karnataka government for approving a 4 per cent reservation for Muslim contractors in government tenders, calling it “an attack on the Constitution” and a move that “incentivizes religious conversion.”

BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.(SansadTV YouTube)

Reacting to the decision, Surya said that reservations in India have always been based on social and economic backwardness rather than religion. “This new gimmick for electoral gains is equal to undoing the very purpose of reservation,” he remarked.

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He further accused the Congress government of misusing power and public resources for vote bank politics, arguing that such policies would turn the economy into a “playground for political opportunism.”

The Karnataka Cabinet has approved amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act which aims to provide four per cent reservation in tenders to Muslim contractors.

Earlier on March 7, Chief Minsiter Siddaramaiah confirmed that four per cent of public works contracts will now be reserved for Muslims under a category called Category-II B, while presenting Karnataka government's Budget.

The decision was taken on Friday in a meeting was held at the Cabinet Hall of the Vidhan Sabha, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and it was decided that the amendment will be done after tabling the KTPP act in the ongoing assembly session, the official sources added.

The Cabinet has approved the presentation of the obedience in the same session likely on Monday.

Reservation will be provided in the procurement of goods and services under various government departments, corporations, and institutions for suppliers belonging to SC, ST, Category-I, Category-II A, and Category-II B, up to ₹1 crore, in which Category-II B refers to Muslims.

(With PTI inputs)