VIJAYAPURA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday defended Karnataka Government’s
decision to scrap 4% reservation for Muslims in the state saying that the BJP will not resort to any kind of appeasement politics. This comes on a day when the Supreme Court said the Karnataka government granting 4% reservation to Muslims will continue to hold the field till May 9.
Addressing a rally in Devara Hipparagi near Vijayapura. Shah said, “By removing the reservation for Muslims, the BJP government has done what is constitutional.”
While claiming that the reservation given to Muslims based on religion was unconstitutional, Shah said nowhere in the Constitution it is said quota can be given based on religion. He accused the earlier Congress government of giving reservations to Muslims as per its ‘Muslim appeasement policy’.
“The BJP will not resort to any kind of appeasement politics and that is why it has done away with reservation for Muslims,” he said. Further, Shah said the Congress has promised voters of getting back the quota for Muslims if it comes to power in the state but the BJP will never allow that to happen. “Reservation will be given only to the oppressed and backward communities,’’ he said. Shah claimed that Former Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah never allowed any person associated with PFI to be arrested, while the BJP government not only banned the outfit but also ensured that the people associated with it were sent behind bars.
On Congress accusing the BJP of insulting the Lingayat community, Shah claimed that it was the same party that insulted former CMs S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil.
Without taking the name of former CM Jagadish Shettar who quit the BJP and joined the Congress, Shah said that the veteran leader was going to lose the election in Hubballi-Dharwad Central by at least 25,000 votes. Appealing to the people to vote for the BJP, he said that voting for JDS is as good as voting for the Congress and voting for the Congress means electing PFI.
Meanwhile, Shah said that the BJP government granted a medical college, textile park and Lime Development Board for Vijayapura district.
But in reality, the district has no government medical college till date. Similarly, the district has no textile park, while it was just a budget proposal. The Lime Development Board too was set up during the last Congress government when Siddaramaiah was the CM. The BJP later allocated funds after coming to power.