Will restore 4% Muslim quota if brought to power: Karnataka Congress

Karnataka: State Congress chief DK Shivakumar said on Friday that if his party came to power there post assembly elections, it would restore the 4 per cent Muslim quota scrapped by the ruling BJP government, Asian News International reported.

The Basavaraj Bommai government in the state decided to delete the four per cent OBC quota for Muslims in March. It equally divided the 4 per cent and added it to the existing quota of two politically dominant communities in the state.

The 4 per cent reservation Muslims had under the 2B classification of the OBC category were added to Vokkaligas and Lingayats, for whom two new reservation categories of 2C and 2D were created.

Shivakumar told ANI that they raised their two lists without any complications.

“BJP could not raise its list yet...More lists will come...” ANI quoted the leader. He added that as soon as a Congress government comes, it will cancel the reservation issue and will protect the minority’s interest.

Congress on Thursday released its second list of 41 candidates for the state assembly elections. It had provided a seat for the regional outfit Savodaya Karnataka Party. The list was released after the meeting of the Congress Central Election Committee. Congress released its first list of 124 candidates on March 25, which had the names of former CM Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.

CM Bommai announced Tuesday that BJP’s Parliamentary Board would finalise the list of candidates for the polls on April 8. He added that the selection of candidates had been made based on winnability.

The polls in the state are scheduled on May 10, and vote counting on May 13.