Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The main opposition BJP on Wednesday attacked Congress over its Muslim quota plank and accused the ruling party of dividing the country by promising to give religion-based reservation.
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.
"We strongly condemn the proposal made by the Congress on reservation for backward Muslims. We call upon Muslims to condemn Congress," she said.
The firebrand BJP leader warned that her party will expose the `real face` of Congress and its divisive politics.
"We (BJP) will fight against this. We will not allow the division of the country on the basis of religion," she said.
"This is a purely poitical move to secure maximum advantage from the UP (Uttar Pradesh) polls. The reservation is only a strategy. They do not care about the Muslims," Bharti said.
Her comments were made at the wake of the remarks made by Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid as he said that if elected to power Congress would provide nine percent reservation for Muslims in jobs in Uttar Pradesh.
Responding to it, the Election Commission sent him a notice to explain his remarks.
However, Khurshid rejected the BJP`s claim, saying such a scheme has been already implemented in Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
