Karnataka cabinet approves amendment to procurement Act

The Karnataka cabinet has okayed an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act aimed at providing 4 per cent reservation in tenders to Muslim contractors.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah chaired a Cabinet meeting on Friday evening where it was decided to table the amended KTTP Act in the ongoing session of the assembly, according to ANI.

Presenting the state budget on 7 March, the chief minister had confirmed the creation of a Category-II B under which 4 per cent of public works contracts would be reserved for Muslims. This would be in addition to the reservation for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes under Category-I and Category-II A for procurement of goods and services, up to Rs 1 crore value, to various government departments, corporations and institutions.

Not surprisingly, the move has been opposed by the BJP in Karnataka which launched an online campaign against the amendment and labelled the budget as a ‘halal budget’.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday, BJP leader and former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that this was part of appeasement politics and weakens national unity. He said the Supreme Court has emphatically spoken against religion-based reservations and expressed confidence that the decision would be challenged in courts.