Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The issue of quota within quota to minorities is getting bitter by the day. Hitting back at the main Opposition for their ‘second partition’ comment the Congress party said on Wednesday that it was the BJP who were injecting the ‘poison of communalism’ in the Indian polity.
Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said that the recent comments by the BJP was a deliberate strategy on their part.
“Before blaming the Congress for appeasing the minorities, the Opposition should look at themselves. It is deplorable to bring such rhetoric back in politics,” said Tiwari categorically.
Earlier, the BJP had called the quota within quota for minorities as announced by the ruling Congress party at the center, a second attempt at partition.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, BJP’s firebrand leader Uma Bharti said, “Congress party’s decision to give 9% reservation to the minority community is a purely politically move, which has been announced in view of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.”
Bharti, who is also the BJP’s election in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, said, “Congress’ divisive policies were responsible for the partition of the country some 60 years back and the ruling party is once again trying to divide the country on the basis of religion. By playing the quota card, the party is targeting the secular structure of the country, which will prove catastrophic for peaceful co-existence of different religious communities’ here.”
“If the government wants to introduce reservation on the basis of religion, it should first declare India as a Hindu country,” she added.
"This is a bad politics that Congress is indulging in for increasing its vote banks," Bharti told reporters.
She even urged the Muslim community to condemn this particular move made by Congress to 'increase vote bank' in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
First Published: Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 16:46