Belagavi (Karnataka). Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, alleging that it “used religion” to come to power.
Singh also slammed the opposition party for arranging four per cent reservation on religious grounds when it was in power in Karnataka. He said that this was done only for the appeasement of the Muslims. Addressing an election rally at Kagwad in Belagavi district, Singh said, “If there is any party in the history of India which has taken the help of ‘religion’ to come to power, it is the Congress.”
It is noteworthy that voting for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will be held on May 10, while the counting of votes will be done on May 13. The Defense Minister alleged that the Congress “does the politics of Hindus, Muslims and Christians”. This kind of politics should never be done. He also alleged that for the appeasement of Muslims, four per cent reservation was arranged in the state on the basis of religion.
Singh said, “If reservation is given to economically weaker Muslims and Christians, we will welcome it, but the Indian Constitution does not allow reservation on the basis of religion. It is noteworthy that just a few days before the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of the state had abolished the four percent reservation for Muslims under the 2B category of Other Backward Classes.
Later, the government divided this four percent reservation into two parts and gave it to the two most influential communities of the state. The government has increased the reservation of Vokkaligas by two per cent under 2C category while it has decided to give two per cent more reservation to Ligayats under 2D category. Thereafter, Muslims were placed in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). Many Muslim organizations moved the Supreme Court against this decision of the government.
The court has directed the Karnataka government not to implement the decision to end reservation till May 9. “There is nothing to hide about the character of the BJP and the whole world knows about it,” Singh said. “The BJP never believed in discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or religion,” he claimed. The BJP believes in ‘justice and humanity’.
The Defense Minister said that the BJP follows the principles of the 12th century Karnataka social reformer Basaveshwara. He said, “BJP is playing its role in India by following the principles of Basaveshwara. Singh claimed that the BJP would win the elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly with a two-thirds majority.
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