Karnataka: Bill to provide 4% reservation to Muslims in civil work tabled in Assembly

The Karnataka government on Tuesday tabled the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which provides for 4% reservation for Muslims and other minorities in public contracts, reported The Hindu.

The Bharatiya Janata Party described the move as “minority appeasement” and “an unconstitutional misadventure”, adding that it will challenge the bill in court, according to Deccan Herald.

The bill was tabled by state Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs HK Patil and is likely to come for discussion on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had announced the proposal in the state Budget presented on March 7. It was approved by the state Cabinet on March 14 to reserve 4% of contracts for minorities in civil works valued up to Rs 2 crore and goods and services contracts up to Rs 1 crore.

At present, Karnataka provides 17.15% reservation for Scheduled Caste communities in civil works. For Scheduled Tribe communities, the reservation is 6.95%, Other Backward Classes Category- 1 gets 4% and Category- 2A gets 15%.

Karnataka has 32% OBC reservation, divided into five categories: 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B.

The bill was tabled against the backdrop of demands to include Muslims under Category 2B of the Other Backward Classes with a 4% quota, according to The Hindu. The 2B category is designated for backward religious minorities, including Muslims.

Stating that it...

Read more