BIDAR/BENGALURU: Defending the Karnataka government’s decision to withdraw a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category recently and distributing it among Lingayats and Vokkaligas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Constitution has no provision to provide reservation to any particular religion.
Congress leaders termed it an attempt to create hatred among communities. Hitting out at them, Shah appreciated the Basavaraj Bommai government’s decision to use that 4 per cent reservation to increase the quota for Lingayats and Vokkaligas by 2 per cent each.
In a major decision on Friday, the Karnataka cabinet scrapped the 4 per cent OBC quota for Muslims under 2B category and moved them to the Economically Weaker Section. The freed-up quota was used to increase the reservation for Vokkaligas from 4 per cent to 6 per cent and for Lingayats from 5 per cent to 7 per cent.
Shah, who was speaking after unveiling a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Martyrs’ Memorial at Gorta village in Bidar district, alleged that the previous Congress government had provided the 4 per cent quota to appease the minorities.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar wondered whether Lingayats and Vokkaligas had asked the government to take away the minority reservation to give it to them. “The existing 56 per cent cap on reservation should have been expanded to increase the reservation for the two communities. Lingayats had asked for a 15 per cent quota and Vokkaligas 12 per cent,” he said.
He alleged that the BJP government threatened Vokkaliga community’s religious head Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji and Panchamasali Lingayat seer Sri Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji to accept the 2 per cent hike each in reservation. “They are not beggars to accept it as it has been robbed from another community. Why is the BJP government trying to sow hatred between communities by scrapping the Muslims OBC quota? Are minorities not our people,” he asked.
