Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh expressed his dissent on Sunday regarding Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Yadav's proposition of extending reservations to the Muslim community nationwide.
Ramesh firmly stated his stance against providing reservations solely based on religious affiliation, asserting that such a practice contradicts the principles upheld by the Constitution.
“We have never given any reservation based on religion. The Constitution also does not say that anyone should be given reservation in the name of religion. It is the Bharatiya Janata Party that wants to divide society based on religion. This is the reason why it is bringing a law like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)," Ramesh conveyed during his interaction with the media in Patna.
He further criticized the BJP's approach, highlighting that “BJP is giving citizenship in the name of religion which is against the Constitution of the country. Reservation can be given only if there is social and economic backwardness."
The Congress party distanced itself from Lalu Yadav's proposal of religious-based reservations, with Ramesh echoing this disassociation.
Previously, Lalu Yadav had advocated for reservations for Muslims, but swiftly retracted his statement, emphasizing on social media that reservations cannot be predicated on religion.
In his critique of the BJP, Ramesh pointed out the party's apparent disregard for pertinent issues affecting the populace.
“The Lok Sabha election has been held for 369 Lok Sabha seats so far and it was clear in the initial phase of polling that BJP has been wiped out in south India and halved in north India. The results will come in our (INDIA bloc’s) favour on June 4." Ramesh remarked.
He further commented on the absence of a pro-BJP sentiment nationwide, “There is no election wave in favour of BJP across the country. Only resentment among the youth and workers. PM Modi has not yet broken his silence on caste-based census. He should clarify whether he is in favour of a caste-based census or against it. The Supreme Court had set a limit of 50 per cent reservation. PM Modi should tell whether he will take it beyond 50 per cent.”
Responding to the Congress party's electoral pledges during recent Assembly elections in Karnataka and Telangana, Ramesh emphasized that “Our guarantee is not a person’s guarantee but it was the party’s guarantee. Whatever promises were made in Telangana and Karnataka have been fulfilled.”
