Shah slams Cong for appeasing Muslims; hails K’taka CM for scrapping 4% quota

The Karnataka Cabinet’s decision to scrap the four per cent reservation granted to Muslims under the 2B category is turning into an election issue in the state, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleging that the provision was made due to the “appeasement policies” of previous Congress governments.
Shah was speaking at the inaugural of Gorata Shaheed Smarak and Sardar Patel Memorial in Bidar. “The BJP does not believe in appeasement politics. The BJP government in the state has decided that there will be changes in the reservation provided in the state. The Congress, to keep its vote bank happy, introduced four per cent reservation for minorities. This was scrapped,” the Home Minister said, noting that the reservation quota was divided between Vokkligas and Lingayats.
Contrary to Shah’s claims, the four per cent reservation quota was introduced by Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H D Deve Gowda during his tenure as Chief Minister in 1994. The then Janata Dal government’s move — through the creation of the “2B” category for Muslims — was part of a historical process that began in 1918 during the rule of the then Mysore princely state and continued till contemporary times when multiple state commissions identified Muslims as being “socially backward”.
But the Basavaraj Bommai-led government decided to scrap the quota for Muslims and placed them in a “larger pool” of 10 per cent reservation offered to Economically Weaker Sections. “Reservation granted to minorities was not constitutional. There is no provision in the Constitution to give reservation based on religion. The Congress government, due to its appeasement politics, granted reservation for minorities,” Shah said, congratulating Bommai for its decision.
Earlier in the day, the Congress tore into the BJP, labelling it the “Betrayal Janata Party”. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar said the state government had decided to change the reservation quota thrice in 90 days without any basis and added that his party would reverse the decision on returning to power.
“May it be backward classes, minorities, Vokkaligas or Lingayats, they are not beggars,” Shivakumar said, accusing the government of having contempt for Dalits and minorities. “Did anyone from Lingayat or Vokkaliga communities ask the government to increase their reservation by robbing minorities? The government should have increased the overall quantum of reservation and offered it to these communities.”
Shivakumar alleged that the ploy was to sow differences between various communities and disturb peace in the state. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, compared Bommai to the character of “Shakuni” in the Mahabharata. “This is a 420 Bommai government’s con job of reservation,” Surjewala said, adding that the BJP was pursuing a plan of “cheat all”.
“As the BJP’s political boat nosedives, the only game plan left with the Bommai government is to cheat, deceive, and defraud various communities in Karnataka. This government is committing a brazen fraud upon people in the name of reservations,” said Surjewala.
The Karnataka Sunni Ulema Board has decided to legally contest the government’s decision. Karnataka State Board of Auqaf chairman Shafi Saadi on Saturday said the minority community might even have to hit the streets to demand that the government reinstate the reservation under the previous category.