‘Congress is against Constitution, reservation & Ambedkar’: BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla on K’taka govt giving 4% quota to Muslims contractors

New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has lashed out at the decision of the Karnataka Cabinet for giving four per cent reservation to the Muslim contractors in tenders.

Speaking to IANS, he said that the “Congress party is against the Constitution, against reservation, and against Ambedkar” and added that “Congress leader and the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, D.K. Shivakumar, has said that the four per cent reservation to Muslims is not constitutionally valid in government contracts”.

Poonawalla told IANS: “It is clear that the Congress party is against the Constitution, against reservation, and against Ambedkar. Congress leader and the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka D.K. Shivakumar, has stated that the 4 per cent Muslim reservation is not constitutionally valid in government contracts. However, they (Congress) assert, So what? We will change the Constitution… .”

The BJP leader also added: “They (Congress) tell people that they are protectors of the Constitution and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tells the people of the country that the BJP will change the Constitution anytime while they are in power. The Congress themselves want to change the Constitution of the country by going against Ambedkar and the basic founding principles on which the Constituion of India was formulated. The Congress wants to bring in a policy going against the reservation to divide the Muslim community on the basis of religion and destroy the Constitution of the country.”

While criticising the Congress government in Karnataka, Poonawalla also said: “It is this very Congress and the Gandhi family which opposed the reservation reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The Congress generally also opposes reservation which the first Prime Minister of the country Jawaharlal Nehru had also said. This is the same Congress party which destroyed the Constitution by imposing the draconinan Emergency in 1975 across the country and today also wants the Constitution to function as per their convenience to appease its Muslim vote bank. Is providing reservation on the basis of religion right according to the Constitution? Now Rahul Gandhi should answer who is the real enemy of the Constitution. The answer is Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party. Earlier Rahul Gandhi had said that the Congress will stop reservations. This clearly shows that the party which is anti-Ambedkar and anti-Constitution is the Congress party. It is Congress’s appeasement and vote bank politics which is the biggest threat to the country’s Constitution.”

The Karnataka Cabinet on March 15 approved an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act which will aim to provide four percent reservation to Muslim contractors in tenders, official sources said.

Earlier on March 7, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed that four per cent of public works contracts will now be reserved for Muslims under a category called Category-II B, while presenting Karnataka government’s Budget.

Reservation will be provided in the procurement of goods and services under various government departments, corporations, and institutions for suppliers belonging to SC, ST, Category-I, Category-II A, and Category-II B, up to Rs 1 crore, in which Category-II B refers to Muslims.

–IANS

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