Amid the BJP’s backlash over the alleged ‘politics of appeasement’, the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government has now clarified that it has not taken any action on the proposed 4% reservation for Muslims in public works contracts.

However, a document accessed by India Today shows that political secretary to the chief minister and MLC Naseer Ahmed pressed for such a reservation. The bill which talks about four per cent reservations for Muslims in public works tenders is alleged to have been made after Ahmed wrote a letter to Siddaramaiah.

There were also reports that a group of MLAs submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister seeking a quota for Muslim contractors in civil works of up to Rs 1 crore.

The memorandum drew criticism from opposition leaders, including Amit Malviya, who called it an attempt at “appeasement politics”. Malviya, in a post on X, asked, “If Muslims are given this quota in Karnataka, then whose quota will be cut – SC, ST or OBC? In Telangana too, Muslims were given 4% reservation, eating up the weightage for socially backward communities.”

Karnataka Leader of Opposition R Ashoka shared his criticism of the Congress party. In a post on X, he said the party’s appeasement policy goes beyond all limits. “Following the tacit support of Congress-led CM Siddaramaiah’s Waqf land grab, the Karnataka government is now planning a 4% quota for Muslims in government tenders. At this rate, Karnataka will soon turn into an Islamic republic and Hindus will become second-class citizens, if not already,” he wrote.

BJP MP Mahesh Tenginkai said that the Congress party has done a policy of appeasement, but with the proposed Muslim reservation quota of 4%, it is exaggerating. He said: “This is wrong. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is doing this so that he can garner votes in the 3 by-polls going on in the state. We will protest against this.”

As the backlash mounted, the chief minister’s office issued a brief statement clarifying that no action had been taken in this regard: “It is true that there is a demand to give reservation (to Muslims). But there is no proposal before the government,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar called the BJP’s allegations a lie and said, “There is no discussion about it. BJP is creating all this because it is election time.”

Home Minister G Parameshwara, on the other hand, admitted that some MLAs have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister seeking 4% reservation for Muslims in public works tenders. He, however, clarified: “It has not yet been discussed in the cabinet meeting. No such order has yet been issued.”

Reiterating what the Home Minister said, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said, “The government has made it very clear that there was a demand from the community. The government has not moved any files.”

Congress MP Rizwan Arshad defended the administration, stressing that no decision had been taken and that the cabinet had to discuss and approve any changes. Responding to the BJP’s criticism, he questioned whether Muslims simply submitting a proposal for consideration had become controversial for the opposition.