New Delhi: BJP on Tuesday slammed the Government for deciding to challenge in the Supreme Court, the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order quashing the 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities and accused the Congress of misleading them with this politically-motivated step.
The main opposition party said that the Government move would not be sustainable as per the Constitution.
“The fact remains that this is an issue where everybody has agreed to giving reservation on grounds of backwardness for which a provision exists. But to have to bring in a category based on religion is not sustainable,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
“The Congress is misleading, particularly the minorities, by saying there is strength in the argument,” Sitharaman added.
The BJP spokesperson also questioned the timing of the 4.5 per cent sub-quota announcement.
“The 27 per cent OBC reservation from which the government of India was trying- during the Uttar Pradesh election- to take away 4.5 per cent quota and give it to backward religious groups, particularly the minorities- as in UP the Muslims- was clearly politically motivated,” Sitharaman said.
Veteran BJP leader L K Advani also criticised UPA government saying the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s decision to set aside the move to create a minorities’ sub-quota, was yet another instance where the Judiciary had to step in to fulfil the Executive’s role. “Many important things that the Government should rectify are being corrected by courts. This High Court decision, the way it has come, I believe it is the executive which should have done this, not judiciary,” Advani told reporters here. Advani said that the Government may challenge the order in the Supreme Court but he believed that the judiciary would deliver a correct verdict.
Earlier, speaking at a function to release a book on the life of veteran journalist K Narendra, Advani said journalists like him were the cause of nationalism, as per Gandhiji’s vision that to strengthen the nation it was important to take forward the national language.
He said that in India people could easily understand any language which had derived from Sanskrit while languages which had Urdu or Persian as the base would seem difficult. (PTI)