Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 12 called Congress an ‘anti-reservation’ party and said that as long as there is one Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, the party won't allow reservations for Muslims.
“Congress is an anti-reservation party. They want to end reservations for backward classes and Dalits to provide it to Muslims. As long as there's even one BJP MLA, we won't allow reservations for Muslims,” Shah was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. He was addressing a public rally in poll-bound Jharkhand's Dhanbad.
The first phase of elections for 43 seats in Jharkhand is scheduled for Wednesday, November 13, and the second phase for 38 seats is scheduled for November 20. The votes will be counted on November 23.
The contest in Jharkhand is between the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led INDIA bloc and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
In the 2019 Assembly Elections, JMM emerged as the largest party with 30 seats, while the BJP bagged 25 seats. The Congress won 16 seats, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) got three seats, while the All Jharkhand Students Union won 2 seats.
During the ongoing election campaign in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the BJP leaders, including Modi and Shah, have alleged that the Congress party wants to finish reservations for backward classes and Dalits and give them to Muslims instead.
Sharpening his attacks on the ruling government, Amit Shah said that they committed a ₹1,000 crore MGNREGA scam, land scam, and mining scam.
“When our government comes, we will implement our 'Sankalp Patra'. We will fulfill all guarantees we make. We have promised that ₹2,100 will be deposited into women's bank accounts. Regardless of gas prices nationwide, it won't cost more than ₹500 here, and on Diwali and Raksha Bandhan, BJP's government will provide two free gas cylinders,” Shah said.
In another rally in Baghmara, Shah said that the BJP, when it comes to power, will implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Jharkhand to prevent infiltration. However, tribals will be kept out of its ambit, Shah said.
The UCC is a proposal in India that is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone, irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation, and gender.
(With inputs from agencies)
