Soon after the initial announcement on Thursday, BJP State President BY Vijayendra termed the move unconstitutional and a blatant act of vote-bank politics. In response, the Chief Minister termed the criticism “hypocritical” and “politically motivated”.
Published Jun 20, 2025 | 9:36 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 20, 2025 | 9:36 PM
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
Synopsis: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has defended the state cabinet’s move to raise the minority housing quota from 10 to 15 percent under state-run schemes, calling BJP’s criticism “hypocritical” and pointing out that the increase aligns with existing Union Government guidelines.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has strongly defended the state cabinet’s decision to raise the housing quota for minority communities under state-run schemes from 10 percent to 15 percent, following criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has accused the Congress government of indulging in “appeasement politics”.
The cabinet decision, approved on Thursday, comes as part of an effort to address the high levels of homelessness among disadvantaged groups and to make better use of unoccupied housing units in urban areas.
Responding to the BJP’s allegations, Siddaramaiah issued a detailed statement on X on Friday, 20 June.
“The Cabinet has approved a decision to enhance the earmarking for minority beneficiaries, including Christians, Jains, Muslims, etc, under state-run housing schemes in a calibrated manner, in line with the Union Government’s own guidelines,” Siddaramaiah said.
He cited the Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities (2019), which recommends that central and state implementing agencies earmark 15 percent of physical and financial targets for minorities wherever possible.
“This guideline is issued by the BJP-led Union Government and has been in force for years,” he wrote.
“If this was unconstitutional or appeasement, why did the Union Government ask all states to follow it? Why is it being implemented under central schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana?”
The Cabinet has approved a decision to enhance the earmarking for minority beneficiaries, including Christians, Jains, Muslims, etc, under state-run housing schemes in a calibrated manner, in line with the Union Government’s own guidelines. This is based on the Prime Minister’s…
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) June 20, 2025
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah clarified that the new provision does not grant a blanket increase in quota across the state, but rather corrects specific implementation challenges in areas with higher concentrations of minority populations.
“In many panchayats where the minority population is less than 10 percent, the mandated 10 percent earmarking could not be utilised. To ensure optimal use of the allocated targets and avoid lapses, we have allowed the gap from such panchayats to be reallocated to those with a higher minority population, subject to a cap of 15 percent,” he said.
“This is an administrative adjustment within the unreserved category and does not affect SC, ST, or OBC reservations in any manner.”
Siddaramaiah also noted that the decision had been legally vetted.
“The decision is legally sound and has been cleared by the Law Department after thorough review.”
Soon after the initial announcement on Thursday, BJP State President BY Vijayendra termed the move unconstitutional and a blatant act of vote-bank politics.
“Reservation on the basis of religion is unconstitutional! The Congress in Karnataka has converted welfare into a marketplace for vote-bank politics,” he wrote in a post on X.
“This is a dangerous attempt to institutionalise communal vote-bank politics. It not only robs SCs, STs, and OBCs of their rightful opportunities, but also sends a disturbing message that merit, backwardness, and constitutional principles are secondary to religious appeasement.”
In response, the chief minister lashed out at the BJP, calling the criticism “hypocritical” and “politically motivated”.
“The same party that implements the 15 percent target at the national level is now accusing Karnataka of appeasement for merely applying the same principle to its state schemes,” he said.
“This selective outrage is nothing but an attempt to stoke communal sentiments and derail efforts meant to uplift the poorest and most marginalised families in the state.”
The chief minister said over 34,000 minority families, most of them landless and in urgent need of housing, would benefit from the decision in the current year alone.
“Where no minority applicants are found in a panchayat, the unutilised share will be reallocated to where there is higher need, ensuring that not a single house remains unbuilt due to technical rigidities,” he added.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
