Congress introduced 4 per cent Muslim quota for "vote bank politics": Amit Shah in Karnataka

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday slammed Congress, accusing the party of introducing the 4 per cent Muslim quota under the 2B Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category for "its vote bank politics" in Karnataka.

Speaking at a rally in Gorata village in Bidar district and Gabbur in Raichur district, he hailed the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government for scrapping the quota, saying the quota on religious lines was constitutionally invalid. "The BJP never believes in appeasement. So, it decided to change the reservation," PTI quoted Shah as saying.

The Union Minister stated that the BJP government also tried to do away the injustice to the Scheduled Castes by introducing a new internal reservation.

"The BJP abolished the four per cent reservation given to the minorities and gave two per cent to the Vokkaligas and two per cent to the Lingayats," Shah said.

"The reservation for minorities is not Constitutionally valid. There is no provision in the Constitution to give reservation based on religion. This Congress government did it for its appeasement politics and gave reservation to the minorities," he added.

The 4 per cent quota will now be equally shared by between dominant Vokkaligas and Lingayat communities. "A cabinet sub-committee recommended the changes in quota categories and we have done it," the Karnataka CM said recently.

Muslims had come under Category 2B and now they will compete with EWS quota, which has Brahmins, Vysyas, Mudaliyars, Jains and others.

After the latest announcement, Vokkaligas have six per cent reservations and Lingayats have seven per cent reservations under Categories 2 (C) and 2 (D), respectively.

"The four per cent (reservation for minorities) will be divided into two between 2C and 2D. The four per cent reservation for the Vokkaligas and others will be enhanced to six per cent and Veerashaiva Panchamasali and others (Lingayats), who are getting five per cent reservation will now get seven per cent," the CM explained.

In addition to it, the BJP government has increased the reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) from 15 to 17 per cent and Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 3 to 7 per cent, India Today reported.

Meanwhile, the Congress has said that it would restore the quota to the minority community in the event of the party coming to power in the State, where Assembly elections are due by May.

President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) D K Shivakumar termed the step "unconstitutional"

"They (the government) think that reservation can be distributed like a property. It's not a property. It's a right (of minorities)", he told reporters here. "We don't want their four per cent to be scrapped and given to any of the major communities. They (members of the minority community) are our brothers and family members".