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Taking serious note of the BJP advertisements in the newspapers as well as the allegations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bhopal on Thursday alleging that the Congress government in Karnataka was including Muslims in Other Backward Classes (OBC) to give reservations to Muslims on religious grounds and meted out injustice to the vast majority of the Backward Communities, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that reservations to Muslims was not a new thing as the community had been enjoying their reservations as its Constitutional rights for the last 30 years.
Addressing a media conference at a private hotel in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that BJP, which had been against the very policy of reservation given to the socially and educationally backward communities, was raising the issue at the time of Lok Sabha elections just to mislead the people for votes.
“Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution clearly provide for reservation to the socially and educationally backward communities. With the 73rd amendment to the Constitution, 33% of reservations were offered to Backward Classes and Minorities (BCM) in Panchayat Raj institutions when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister. But it was implemented when P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister. 26.4% of reservation was given to BCM(A) and 06.6% reservation was given to BCM(B). It was implemented in Karnataka when H.D. Deve Gowda was Chief Minister in 1994. Since then, Muslims have been in OBC, which is not new. The community is enjoying its reservation rights as per the Constitutional provisions and not on religious lines,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
Recalling the Mandal Commission’s recommendations for reservations to OBCs and the widespread agitations by the BJP against it, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the BJP had always been against the reservations to the backward classes, minorities and women.
“When Mandal Commission recommended reservations to backward classes, the BJP called for agitations. It instigated that college students and youth to protest against the recommendations. BJP has always been against the very concept of social justice,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister also referred to BJP leader Justice Rama Jois’ fight in the court against the reservations to backward classes, women and minorities to press his point that BJP was basically against the very concept of reservations to the backward and marginalised sections.
“BJP leader Rama Jois himself argued in the Supreme Court against the reservations for backward classes, women and minorities. However, the Supreme Court upheld the reservations these marginalised sections,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
‘Completely false and politically motivated’
Training his guns at Mr. Modi at the end, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that Mr. Modi’s allegations were completely false and politically motivated.
“Mr. Modi is the Prime Minister of India and making baseless allegations just for polarising votes in favour of his party doesn’t go well with the office he is holding. As the Prime Minister, he is duty-bound to protect the dignity, life and property of all the citizens. All those citizens who are economically and educationally backward are entitled to get reservations,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
To a question, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that his party would complain to the Election Commission of India against the BJP which had got the advertisements published in the newspapers falsely alleging that Congress would snatch reservation from OBC communities to give it to Muslims.
Ministers Priyank Kharge and Sharan Prakash Patil, Chief Minister’s advisor B.R. Patil, Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board Chairmn Ajay Singh other Congress leaders were present.
