SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Bengaluru: As Karnataka prepares for a political transition with D.K. Shivakumar set to take oath as the new Chief Minister, a federation of Muslim organisations has urged the Congress party to provide greater political representation to the community in the upcoming Legislative Council and Rajya Sabha elections.
In a statement released on Monday, June 1, the Karnataka State Federation of Muslim Organisations demanded that the ruling Congress allocate at least two Legislative Council seats and one Rajya Sabha seat to Muslim candidates. Elections for seven Legislative Council seats and four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka are scheduled to be held on June 18.
The federation pointed out that Muslims constitute nearly 13 per cent of Karnataka’s population but remain underrepresented in key political institutions. Out of the 75 members in the Karnataka Legislative Council, only four are Muslims, far below what the community considers proportionate representation.
The organisation also highlighted that the Congress government had multiple opportunities to nominate members to the Council after coming to power but provided only limited representation to Muslims. It further claimed that no Muslim candidate was nominated during the 2025 Council nominations despite available vacancies.
The statement expressed concern over the declining representation of Muslims in Parliament as well. According to the federation, Karnataka currently has only one Muslim Rajya Sabha member and no Muslim Lok Sabha member, resulting in reduced community representation at the national level.
The federation argued that Muslims have consistently supported the Congress and therefore deserve fair representation in legislatures, government institutions, universities, and boards. It urged the party leadership to address the perceived imbalance by allocating at least two Council seats and one Rajya Sabha seat to Muslim leaders.
The organisations said such a move would be in line with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s stated commitment to ensuring greater participation and representation of minority communities within the party and public institutions.
SOURCE : SIASAT
