New Delhi, March 23 -- Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar defended Karnataka state cabinet passing a bill granting a four per cent reservation to Muslims in public contracts and said that it was done to protect the backward class people.

DK Shivakumar said, "We are protecting all the backward class people."

Earlier, BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Saturday criticized Karnataka's decision to amend the KTPP Act to provide 4 per cent reservation in tenders for minority contractors, claiming it is a move to gain Muslim votes.

Speaking to ANI, Thakur said, "Congress believes in the politics of appeasement, Divide and Rule. At the direction of Rahul Gandhi, the play staged by Karnataka Congress leaders clearly shows that to gain Muslim vo...