Lucknow, January 17: With election campaigning gaining momentum in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the ruling Congress Party and the regional Samajwadi Party (SP) of indulging in caste-based communal politics to garner support of the voters.
BJP President Nitin Gadkari criticized the Congress Party and the Samajwadi Party for playing vote bank politics.
“In view of the elections and politics of Uttar Pradesh, they (Congress and Samajwadi Party) are trying to play caste-based and communal politics for vote bank politics. The situation in Uttar Pradesh is that the public is suffering due to poverty, hunger, unemployment and price rise,” he told the media here.
Gadkari said as per the constitution more than 50 percent reservation is not allowed, and if the Congress party and Samajwadi Party are promising to increase Muslim reservation, then it will be deducted from the OBC share.
“If Mulayam Singh (Samajwadi Party chief) is talking of giving 18 percent reservation to minorities, then he will have to minus 18 percent from the rights of OBCs (other backward classes), for whom he had always fought. And if Congress party talks of giving nine percent reservation to minorities, then that nine percent will be deducted from the OBC, from the 27 percent that the OBCs enjoy,” said Gadkari.
“Either it will be deducted from the OBC or the Schedule Castes, because the constitution does not approve more than 50 percent reservation,” he added.
Accusing the Congress and Samajwadi Party of trying to split the nation on religious grounds, Gadkari said: “Congress Party has been continuously defeated in the Uttar Pradesh elections and at the last stage; they are using the policy of inciting violence on the basis of religion. This is very dangerous for the country and unfortunate for Uttar Pradesh.”
Union Law and Justice Minister Salman Khurshid had earlier promised to reserve 4.5 percent for minorities bracketed under other backward classes, if his party is elected in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Polls in Uttar Pradesh are to be conducted in seven phases between February 8 and March 3. The counting of votes would take place on March 6.ttar Pradesh will elect a new 403-member state assembly in March, and the poll results are expected to broadly indicate trends for 2014 general elections.
—-Agencies