"Siddaramaiah can stoop to any level to appease minorities": Karnataka BJP Chief slams 15% muslim housing quota
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 20 (ANI): Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra on Friday strongly criticised the state cabinet's decision to increase reservation for minorities under various housing schemes from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, calling it appeasement politics by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government.
Speaking to ANI, Vijayendra said, '...Chief Minister Siddaramaiah can stoop to any level to appease minorities...This is unconstitutional...Instead of doing appeasement politics, they should stress on providing education to the minorities...BJP is not against minorities, but is against anti-national elements...We will take up this issue in the assembly and also hit the streets.'
Vijayendra questioned the Congress's claim of following Ambedkar's ideology, saying, 'Congress leaders, including CM Siddaramaiah, repeatedly claim they're champions of the Dalits... but this is not what people expect.'
Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's schemes, he said benefits like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao reached every section of society, unlike the Congress's religion-specific approach.
'Let them stress upon education to the minorities. Let them educate people. The Congress party, after independence, never did this. If Muslims are still below the poverty line, it is only because of the Congress's attitude,' he added.
The BJP chief also announced that the party would raise the issue in the state assembly and protest across Karnataka. 'They're only trying to fool the people of Karnataka... The High Court has clearly said it was the fault of the political leadership. At least after the court's observation, the CM should accept it,' Vijayendra told ANI.
Referring to the recent stampede in Bengaluru's Chikkaballapur, Vijayendra blamed the Chief Minister and Deputy CM, calling it a failure of governance. 'Unfortunately, innocent officials, senior IPS officers, including the Bengaluru City Commissioner, have been made scapegoats. Bureaucracy is losing hope in this government,' he alleged.
Earlier, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi condemned the move, calling it unconstitutional by referring to the Supreme Court's 'rejection' of religion-based reservation.
Speaking to ANI, Joshi said, 'This is against the Constitution. The Supreme Court has also rejected a religion-based reservation. This reduces the quota for OBC, ST, and poor people from the general caste. The Karnataka government is doing the politics of appeasement. I condemn this. We will also approach the court against this.'
On Thursday, the Karnataka Cabinet approved an increase in the reservation quota for minority communities under various housing schemes from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Karnataka Minister HK Patil stated that this move does not require any new rules to be drafted.'The reservation for all minority communities will be increased. There are Christians, Jains, Buddhists,' the Minister said. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Last word
HCs and trial courts must follow SC's line on free speech The Constitution is clear – you have the right to freedom of speech and expression, subject to reasonable restrictions. But like an Ashokan edict carved in stone, the Constitution's letter is only as good as the spirit of the institutions tasked with upholding it. In the Thug Life case, SC has once again struck a blow for free speech. While clearing the Kamal Haasan film's release in Karnataka, it has made it abundantly clear that one person's 'hurt sentiments' are not a reasonable ground for curbing another's right to expression: 'In India…there will never be an end to the hurt sentiment phenomenon. But for that, right to free speech cannot be jeopardised…' Three months ago, in the Imran Pratapgarhi case, SC had forcefully made the same point: 'Even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by another, the right of the person to express the views must be respected and protected.' As the chief arbiter of the land, SC could not have made itself clearer in March any more than it can now. There's no way its word can be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Yet, Calcutta HC told a 22-year-old early this month: 'Look, we have freedom of speech but that doesn't mean you will go on to hurt others.' Then, Karnataka HC told Haasan: 'You or any citizen have no right to hurt sentiments of the masses…' And lower courts' views on free speech are generally even more stifling. This divergence of opinion within the judiciary has a chilling effect on free speech because there's only one SC above hundreds of HCs and subordinate courts. If free speech is a pillar of democracy, and a tenet of the Constitution, it shouldn't have to run the gauntlet with the hope of eventual salvation in the apex court. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Minority quota hike only after fresh housing targets by govt
Bengaluru: The govt's decision to hike minority reservation in housing from 10% to 15% is likely to be implemented only once chief minister Siddaramaiah allocates "targets" for the housing department and is unlikely to impact the current situation. Housing and minority welfare minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan defended the govt's move and reiterated that the cabinet decision was based on central govt directives. "The state has no role to play in this quota hike," Khan said. "The central govt directed us to implement the 2006 Sachar Committee report which recommended a 15% housing quota for minorities. The chief secretary received written communication from the Centre in 2019, followed by directions from the National Minority Commission in 2021 when BJP was at the helm." Khan said the hike in quota can only be implemented when fresh targets are fixed for the housing department. "At present, Siddaramaiah has given us the green signal to complete ongoing work pending from 2013," he said. "The fresh quota is only prospective." Housing department officials say the 15% quota will not be "added" but will be "offset" from one district to another. "Say, for example, only 3% of the quota is filled in Chikkaballapur, then the remaining 7% from Chikkaballapur will be shifted to Bidar, where there is a demand for 15% from minorities," said an official. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top Cardiologist Says This Food Can Do Wonders For Your Health Gundry MD Learn More Undo Emphasising this, chief minister Siddaramaiah said: "In many panchayats, the population of minorities is less than 10%. To ensure optimal use of targets, we have allowed the gap from these panchayats to be used elsewhere, subject to the 15% cap in the unreserved section." Meanwhile, Khan said the total expenditure for ongoing work is about Rs 9,500 crore under various housing schemes and hinted that the quota hike will not be implemented anytime soon due to a paucity of funds. Appeasement, says BJP BJP Friday continued to target the govt over its decision to increase reservation in housing for minorities from 10% to 15%, calling it "minority appeasement" and pandering to its core vote bank of the Muslim community. While criticising the decision, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa Friday, said: "We are not against minorities, but supporting them beyond a point is unpardonable. The govt is supposed to help Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Instead, it is creating confusion like Tughlaq darbar." He challenged CM Siddaramaiah and his govt to show where, in part of the state, even a kilometre of road was built. He claimed infrastructure development has come to a standstill. "Irrigation projects have been stalled and there is no one to listen to people's concerns," he said. Meanwhile, his son and party state president BY Vijayendra drew parallels between the state govt and the NDA govt under Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre where "both Hindus and minorities alike are being served justice". He accused Siddaramaiah of practising "devise politics", saying: "The CM's conduct demeans the dignity of his post. People will give him a befitting reply." tnn
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"She's Wrong": Trump On Spy Chief Tulsi Gabbard's Iran Nuclear Remark
Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong in suggesting there was no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon. Trump contested intelligence assessments relayed earlier this year by his spy chief that Tehran was not building a nuclear weapon when he spoke with reporters at an airport in Morristown, New Jersey. "She's wrong," Trump said. In March, Gabbard testified to Congress that the U.S. intelligence community continued to believe that Tehran was not building a nuclear weapon. "The (intelligence community) continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon," she said. On Friday, Gabbard said in a post on the social media platform X that: "America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree." She said the media has taken her March testimony "out of context" and was trying to "manufacture division." The White House has said Trump would weigh involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict over the next two weeks. On Tuesday, Trump made similar comments to reporters about Gabbard's assessment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has justified a week of airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets by saying Tehran was on the verge of having a warhead. Iran denies developing nuclear weapons, saying its uranium enrichment program is only for peaceful purposes. In March, Gabbard described Iran's enriched uranium stockpile as unprecedented for a state without such weapons and said the government was watching the situation closely. She also said that Iran had started discussing nuclear weapons in public, "emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran's decision-making apparatus." A source with access to U.S. intelligence reports told Reuters that the assessment presented by Gabbard has not changed. They said U.S. spy services also judged that it would take up to three years for Iran to build a warhead with which it could hit a target of its choice. Some experts, however, believe it could take Iran a much shorter time to build and deliver an untested crude nuclear device, although there would be no guarantee it would work. Trump has frequently disavowed the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies, which he and his supporters have charged - without providing proof - are part of a "deep state" cabal of U.S. officials opposed to his presidency. Gabbard, a fierce Trump loyalist, has been among the president's backers who have aired such allegations. The Republican president repeatedly clashed with U.S. spy agencies during his first term, including over an assessment that Moscow worked to sway the 2016 presidential vote in his favor and his acceptance of Russian President Vladimir Putin's denials.
