Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya criticized the Karnataka government over the minority reservation quota bill

Lucknow: Babasaheb Ambedkar was always against religious-based reservation; thus, Congress will pay for the “cheap trick” it has pulled to get “Muslim votes.” Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Saturday criticized Karnataka’s decision to change the KTPP Act to provide 4 percent reservation in tenders for minority contractors.

Speaking with the media report, Keshav Prasad Maurya remarked, ” Congress has always been against the backward sections… Giving reservations based on religion infuriated Babasaheb Ambedkar. Congress will cover the inexpensive ruse it used to win the Muslim vote bank in Karnataka…” Maurya also attacked Samajwadi Party head Akhilesh Yadav for his silence on the 4% reserve.

“Akhilesh Yadav should first explain his quiet on the 4% reservation. Uttar Pradesh’s law and order scenario is a million times better than the Samajwadi Party’s era. The Samajwadi Party lacks deservingness for authority. It is not even doing its obligation of being an opposition correctly, the Deputy CM stated.

Claiming it is a step to get Muslim votes, BJP MP Anurag Thakur attacked Karnataka’s decision to change the KTPP Act to provide 4 percent reserve in bidding for minority contractors earlier today.

Speaking with ANI, Thakur said, ” Congress believes in the politics of appeasement, Divide and Rule. Under Rahul Gandhi’s supervision, the drama produced by leaders of the Karnataka Congress amply illustrates how blatantly government contracts with a 4% quota are being used to acquire Muslim votes.”

He said that minority contractors would have to pay penalties and that the Karnataka government’s choice to provide a 4% reserve to them violates the law.

“This is illegal; hence, they would also have to deal with the repercussions. Congress has not learned anything even after so many losses, Thakur added.

Approved by the Karnataka state cabinet, the amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act seeks to provide a 4% reserve in contracts to minority contractors.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah led a meeting in the Cabinet Hall of the Vidhan Sabha on March 14 to render the decision. According to sources, the modification would be implemented after the tabling of the KTPP act in the continuing assembly session.

But Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has underlined that the state government’s choice to provide a four percent quota in government contracts spans “all minority communities and backward classes,” not just Muslims.

According to remarks by State Minister Ramalinga Reddy, this reservation would include all five to six minority groups.

“BJP always engages in nonsensical activities. For SC/ST, there is a reserve. These days, we have reserved seats for minorities. There are five to six minority communities. Not just one group; everybody would fall under this reservation,” Ramalinga Reddy stated to the reporters.