Cong provided quotas to minoritiesbut not on basis of religion: Ramesh

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONGRESS leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday asserted that reservations have been provided to certain sections of minority communities, in States ruled by it, “on the ground of social and economic backwardness”. Addressing a press conference at the Sadaqat Ashram here, the BPCC headquarters, Ramesh clarified that no quotas have been provided “on the basis of religion” in States like Karnataka.

 

“We abide by the Constitution which does not allow grant of reservations and citizenship on the basis of religion. It is the BJP which has violated the Constitution through CAA, which is nothing but grant of citizenship along religious lines. The law has, therefore, been challenged in court”, the AICC general secretary said. Ramesh was responding to queries on allegations by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Congress was snatching away quotas meant for OBCs and Dalits and diverting these to its own “vote bank” of Muslims.

 

Ramesh alleged that Modi was “making one false statement after another” to divert public attention from real issues and claimed, “the ground is slipping from under his feet. There is desperation out of realisation that he is an outgoing (nivartman) Prime Minister”. On the other hand, he claimed, the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. bloc was on its way to secure “a decisive mandate” in the Lok Sabha polls.