GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Tuesday, asserted that the BJP is against religion-based reservation and if there’s any political party that grants reservation on religious lines, it’s the Congress.
“Congress gave reservation to the Muslims in undivided Andhra Pradesh by diverting from Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota. Again, in Karnataka, without conducting any survey to determine backwardness of the Muslims, the Congress categorised them under OBC. When we form governments in these states, we will abolish all religion-based reservations,” he said, while speaking to the press at AB Vajpayee Bhawan in Guwahati, on Tuesday.
Asserting the party’s unwavering support for reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and OBC, Shah assured that the party will not alter the constitution in any way.
“The Congress is spreading lies about the BJP’s intentions to amend the constitution after securing an absolute majority, but that’s unfounded. I want to clarify that the BJP fully supports reservation for SC, ST, and OBC and is committed to safeguarding it,” he said.
Continuing his critique of the opposition Congress, Minister Shah contrasted the BJP’s governance approach with that of the Grand Old Party.
“The BJP utilised its absolute majority to enact significant reforms, including the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, the abolition of triple talaq, and measures to combat Covid-19. We didn’t use absolute majority to strangle democracy like the Congress did by imposing Emergency,” he said.
Moreover, Shah remarked on the Congress’ apparent frustration and their resort to “cheap political moves” to counter the BJP’s growing popularity, including their “Aaki baar 400 paar” (This time, surpass 400) call.
“Congress should fight the election on their own manifesto, not by spreading fake videos and misinformation and thereby misleading people to garner support,” he added.
