As per report a man known for working closely with the Muslim community, having served as an mla and minister in 1989 and later elected as an MLC twice yet maintaining a rather low profile ahmed now finds himself in the midst of a controversy as he leads the proposal by Muslim legislators seeking a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in public works contracts. Ahmed, often seen as a “non-controversial politician", has preferred to work behind the scenes, allowing party leaders to front ideas that would benefit the community.
Perhaps having worked with several chief ministers, from devaraj Urs and S Bangarappa to now Siddaramaiah, ahmed is a man who prefers to work from the trenches, say those close to him. Ahmed, currently a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), is said to have pushed for the 4 per cent reservation as he believes that since there are quotas for sc and st communities in awarding contracts, a similar provision for Muslims would benefit the community, explained another congress Muslim leader. The letter from ahmed was based on reports that a group of MLAs submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, requesting a quota for Muslim contractors in civil works contracts up to Rs 1 crore.
Moreover after Siddaramaiah mentioned that while there was a demand for Muslim reservation, no decision had been taken by the government, ahmed said he was yet to hear back from the CMO. The congress fielded ahmed for the MLC position in 2021 and nominated him as the party’s candidate for the Legislative Council Chairman election. The election came about after the resignation of Congress’s K Prathapachandra Shetty as chairman, to pre-empt a no-confidence motion against him, backed by the ruling BJP, with JD(S) extending support.
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