Shah, Bommai defend move to end Muslim quota in Karnataka

Bommai insisted that no injustice was done

Top BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, defended the decision to end the 4% Muslim reservation on a day the government told the Supreme Court that the policy move will be kept in abeyance until May 9.

Having made it an election issue, Shah along with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje argued against reservation for Muslims while Congress and JD(S) mounted a fresh attack on the saffron party.

Shah himself led the charge Tuesday at a rally in Devar Hippargi, Vijayapura where he said the BJP government made “a big change” in reservation. “Why Muslim reservation? Constitution doesn’t allow religion-based reservation. But Congress, for the sake of votes, provided reservation to Muslims,” he said.

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“The BJP government cancelled 4% Muslim reservation and quotas for Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Talavar-Parivara and Dalits were increased,” he added.

“BJP believes clearly that backward classes, Dalits and Adivasis have a right on reservation,” Shah said, slamming the Congress for saying it would undo the BJP government’s reservation decisions if voted to power. “The Congress president says they will restore Muslim reservation and decrease quotas of Lingayats, Vokkaligas, SCs and STs. We won’t allow reservation we have increased for Lingayats and Vokkaligas to end,” he said.

Bommai, who presided over the Cabinet decision to scrap 4% Muslim reservation and give two percentage points each to the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, insisted that no injustice was done.

“Congress is lying when it says that this is against Muslims. There are 17 sub-groups of Muslims - Pinjara, Darji, Chaparband and others - who are still under Category 1 and 2A of the OBC list. They are extremely poor. Only the religion-based reservation has been moved to the EWS quota pool where the income criteria will continue. So, there is no injustice,” Bommai explained.

Clarifying that there is no stay by the top court, Bommai said the government itself has taken a stand that the decision will not be implemented during the course of case hearing.

According to Karandlaje, no other state has reservation for Muslims. “There is the possibility of this becoming a template for other states and if that happens, the SC/ST reservation will be hit. We don’t want Karnataka to set such a precedent,” she said, adding that she does not agree with the top court’s stand.

“Even the Supreme Court functions within the Constitutional framework,” she pointed out.