Karnataka Cabinet approves 15% housing quota for Muslims across state

India Today

5 hours ago

The Karnataka Cabinet accepted a proposal to increase reservation for the Muslim community under its housing schemes. The move will apply to all housing schemes implemented by the Urban and Rural Development Departments across the state.Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan backed the proposal, which seeks to raise the reservation for minority communities from the current 10 per cent to 15 per cent.advertisement'Of course, we have to go by the population. There is a large urban population, and many minorities and poor people are part of it. In urban areas, a lot of minorities are present,' DK Shivakumar said, defending the move.
'Housing has been vacant, and we couldn't allocate it to others. That's why they requested 10–15 percent,' he said, pointing to towns like Mandya, where entire towers built under housing schemes are still empty. 'Try Mandya, on the left side, there are 7–9 towers where no one has gone to live. At least minorities are willing to occupy those buildings,' he added.'Even in Bengaluru, many houses remain vacant. Whom should we give them to? It's a big problem. We've constructed houses, but no one has occupied them,' he said, adding that minorities have long requested this increase. 'In the past 7 years, they proposed this, and we agreed.'advertisementBacking the decision, Minister MC Sudhakar added that the Centre already provides 15 per cent allocation for minorities, and Karnataka is aligning with that. 'It's the allocation of houses for minorities. Central government has 15 per cent and we have increased it to 15 per cent,' he said.Law Minister HK Patil echoed the government's commitment to equitable housing. ''Housing for All' is the key slogan of the Congress government, and we are committed to ensuring that every citizen has access to a home,' he said.Patil added that many houseless individuals belong to downtrodden communities and minorities, and the decision to increase the quota reflects this ground reality. 'The government is firm in its stand that all houseless individuals, regardless of their community, should be provided with housing,' he said.BJP SLAMS MOVE AS UNCONSTITUIONALThe BJP has strongly criticised the decision, calling it religion-based and unconstitutional. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi accused the Congress-led government of violating Supreme Court rulings and resorting to appeasement politics.'The Supreme Court has clearly said religion-based reservation is illegal. But the Karnataka government has now given 15 per cent reservation to Muslims in the housing scheme,' Joshi said. He alleged that the Congress, under Rahul Gandhi's direction, has implemented what was "on paper 4 per cent " as "actually 15 per cent.'advertisement'This affects the rights of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) communities. I strongly condemn it. They are snatching away the rights of the deserving and handing them out under appeasement,' he added, warning that the BJP would consider legal action after consultations.BJP MLC CT Ravi also weighed in, invoking the Constitution. 'Ambedkar had opposed religion-based reservations. But here in Karnataka, the Congress is bringing that into housing schemes too,' he said.4% RESERVATION IN PUBLIC CONTRACTSThis move follows the government's proposal to extend quota benefits for Muslims in contract allocations, suggesting a broader push for increased community-specific welfare initiatives.The Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2025, aims to provide 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts of under Rs 2 crore. The bill was passed in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on March 21 amidst significant turmoil and opposition from BJP legislators.After returning it twice, Karnataka Governor confirmed on May 22 that he has already forwarded the bill for the President's 'kind consideration' under Article 200.Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress government in Karnataka of granting reservations in tenders based on religion, alleging that the move 'snatched the rights of SCs, STs, and OBCs'.Tune InMust Watch
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