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Following the Karnataka government's decision to provide 4 per cent reservations to minorities in government contracts, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday defended the move after being accused of appeasement politics by the Bharatiya Janata Party, clarifying that the reservation is not only for muslims, but for all minorities.
Speaking to reporters at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee's office, Shivakumar said, "The reservation of contracts for minorities is only up to Rs 2 crores. In the past, similar arrangements were done for SC/STs. This is for all minorities and not just for Muslims." When asked about the BJP's accusation that the reservation was appeasement politics, he said, "They also need livelihood, right? The BJP must keep remembering us; then only will we become stronger." The Karnataka Deputy CM is also set to attend the meeting on delimitation called by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on March 22 in Chennai. "The (Congress) High Command and the CM (Siddaramaiah) have told me to attend the meet. The CM is not attending as doctors have advised him to rest due to the knee pain. I will be representing the government," he said. The Tamil Nadu CM has invited the CMs of various states and leaders of multiple national and regional political parties to attend the meeting. The Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been protesting against the central government's three-language formula for national education policy and delimitation. The CM has called for a united political front against the proposed delimitation exercise, urging various parties to join forces in opposing what he termed a "blatant assault on federalism." Shivakumar also mentioned on Saturday that the state government is "of course ready" to conduct the delayed elections and that a meeting of the party's past BBMP candidates has been called to collect feedback. He said, "The government is, of course, ready. How long can it be postponed? We have called for a meeting of past candidates for BBMP elections from the Congress party to collect their feedback. Then, we will call for a meeting of candidates from all parties. We will collect the feedback from all of them." The dates for the municipal elections have not been announced yet. (ANI)
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