Vijayawada, Sep 23 (UNI) Welcoming the Andhra Pradesh High Court verdict striking down the state government order providing for five per cent reservation to Muslims in jobs and education, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister of state B Datattreya today made it clear that his party was against any religion-based reservation as the same was responsible for division of the country at the time of independence.
''In principle, the BJP is opposed to reservation on the basis of any religion as religion-based reservation during the British rule has given strength to the two nation theory which led to partition of the country,'' he told a press conference here.
Accusing the state government of being ''incompetent and insincere'' in bettering the living standards of minorities as also other backward classes and scheduled castes and tribes, he said ''the Congress party which ruled the country for over 50 years, alone is responsible for the pitiable condition of minorities and other weaker sections of people and it has a vested interest in ensuring that they continue to remain backward ever due to vote-bank politics.'' Coming to the defence of the BJP's poll ally the TDP, he objected to Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy likening the previous Naidu government to Epic Ramayana character 'kumbhakarna' for alleged inaction to get a report from the backward classes commission. The present Congress-led government was in a sleeping mode like 'Ghadothgajaa,' of the Epic Mahabharata, who could not be awakened easily, he said.
Refuting Dr Reddy's argument that the court had vindicated the government's stand on reservation for minorities, Mr Dattatreya charged the Chief Minister with trying to shift the blame on officials instead of owning responsibility for his government's failure. (Source: Deepika Global)
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“There is a theory of politics called `divide and rule'. Just to undermine the independence of India, the British government started a programme to encourage communal division amongst the people based on caste, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, Muslim and non-Muslim. They wanted to encourage divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims. General people, scheduled castes and sched uled tribes -- these were the divisions. Our leaders should not have accepted such divisions. Rather, at that time they should have said that preference should be given on the basis of socio-economic backwardness, not on the basis of castes or creeds. But certain political parties were based on caste prejudices or communal sentiments, which is why they supported the British government.
During the struggle for independence, a great blunder was committed by Mahatma Gandhi. In order to show his innocence, he said that he would not support the communal award, but nor would he vote against it. That is, indirectly he supported it. What happened to the country after this was due to the himalayan blunder committed by Mahatma Gandhi. At that time he should have said, "No. I do not support the communal award." He did not say this because his party workers and party leaders were eager to become ministers, so they pressed him for provincial autonomy. But Mahatma Gandhi neither supported it nor opposed it. He committed a great blunder. What has happened in the country after this is the result of what Mahatma Gandhi did. At that time he should have said that we can neither split the country nor disintegrate it. As a result of the communal award, the country was trifurcated into Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. This was the result of the blunder of Mahatma Gandhi, and he did it under the pressure of his party leaders. They wanted to become ministers, as there was scope in the government of India at that time for wresting provincial autonomy, attaining ministership, creating two new provinces -- Orissa and Sind -- and separating Ceylon and Burma from India.” (Shrii P. R. Sarkar, "THE DANGERS OF COMMUNALISM", Prout in a Nutshell Part 18)
