Karnataka government spreading divisive communal agenda: BJP leader CR Kesavan targets Congress over housing scheme issue

Kesavan said that the Karnataka government's decision is a "blatant" betrayal of Dr BR Ambedkar's principles of social justice. He highlighted that for Congress, neither the nation, the Constitution, nor the welfare of these communities comes first; for them, their "religious appeasement" policies matter.

"The Congress government in Karnataka is spreading a divisive communal agenda and conspiring against the Constitution. This move by the Karnataka government is a blatant betrayal of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's principles of social justice. It is an alarming assault and direct attack on the rights of SCs, STs, and OBCs... The vote bank and appeasement politics of the Congress government are not new. For the Congress party, neither the nation, the Constitution, nor the welfare of these communities comes first -- what matters to them is the politics of religious appeasement", CR Kesavan told ANI.

BJP MP Sambit Patra on Friday tore apart the Congress-led Karnataka government over its decision to increase reservation in housing development schemes for minorities from 10 to 15 per cent. He termed it a "perfect" example of how people keep the Constitution in their "pockets" after "tearing it into pieces."

Sambit Patra said the Constitution for the Congress party and the Gandhi family are secondary to appeasement.

"The Karnataka Cabinet passing the Muslim reservation in housing schemes yesterday is a perfect example of how the people who keep the Constitution in their pockets are tearing the Constitution to pieces... For the Congress Party and the Gandhi family, the Constitution is secondary to religious appeasement", Sambit Patra told reporters on Friday.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar rebuffed BJP leader Amit Malviya's criticism of the state government's decision to raise minority reservations in housing schemes from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, accusing the BJP of fostering division.

Malviya had criticised the Congress government, alleging the hike was a move to "appease its vote bank" at the expense of other communities, calling it "blatantly illegal and unconstitutional."Shivakumar accused the BJP of promoting divisive politics and said the government's decision was based on recommendations like the Sachar Committee Report and aimed at correcting implementation lapses in minority housing quotas.

Addressing the media, Shivakumar said, "I am least bothered about any other BJP leader's comments or anything. They create hatred and they will try to divide society. We always try to unite society. There is a Sachar Committee Report which states that 15 per cent of the reservation should be given on welfare schemes to minorities. In various schemes, we had given 10 per cent of houses' reservation to them but in rural parts of Karnataka, there are no minorities. All minorities are in urban section - some were 25 per cent, some others 30 per cent, somewhere else 12 per cent. So, there were a lot of lapses. That is why, my Minister proposed it."

The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved an increase in the reservation quota for minority communities under various housing schemes from 10 per cent to 15 per cent. (ANI)