NEW DELHI: The BJP on Saturday slammed the Karnataka government's decision to reserve four per cent of government contracts for Muslims as being 'unconstitutional' and accused the Congress of engaging in 'appeasement politics'.
The BJP’s full-scale criticism came after the Karnataka cabinet approved an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act, which aims to reserve 4% of government contracts for Muslim contractors.
Addressing a press conference, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "The Congress Party is not learning a lesson from its multiple defeats in recent elections, which were due to its politics of appeasement."
He added that though the Karnataka government's decision may seem small, these developments will add up to have serious national implications.
Prasad alleged that the Congress party and its chief, Rahul Gandhi, engaged in competitive communal and vote bank politics among opposition parties.
The former law minister dubbed decision as 'unconstitutional'. The Constitution makes provision for reservation on the ground of social and education backwardness, and Muslims too have benefitted under it in different states, he said.
Prasad reiterated the BJP's stance, stating that the party is opposed to religion-based reservation. He attacked Rahul Gandhi for promoting a new model of reservation.
"Rahul Gandhi is under the illusion that he will lead with this kind of competitive votebank politics. He is promoting a new standard in appeasement politics, which is detrimental to the country’s development," he said.
Prasad also asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to explain his "extraordinary fondness" for Vietnam, claiming the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha is spending more time in that country than his constituency.
"The frequency of his visit to that country is very curious," Prasad said.
Prasad further alleged that the Karnataka government’s decision to reserve 4% of government contracts for Muslims would weaken national unity.
He claimed that such decisions weakened the voice of those Muslims who are against such politics and stand for the country's development.
He said several demands for separate treatment for Muslims during the independence movement had finally ended up in the country's division.
He said the Supreme Court has clearly spoken against religion-based reservations and expressed confidence that the decision of the Congress government in Karnataka will be challenged in courts.