Reservations on religious lines disastrous: BJP

Reacting to the Supreme Court judgement permitting Andhra Pradesh to provide reservation to backward Muslims, BJP on Thursday said job quotas on religious lines could be disastrous for Indian democracy and society.

Reacting to the Supreme Court judgement permitting Andhra Pradesh to provide reservation to backward Muslims, BJP on Thursday said job quotas on religious lines could be disastrous for Indian democracy and society.

HT Image

"BJP has expressed earlier that reservations based on religion could be disastrous for Indian democracy and that needs to have a holistic view of the subject," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.

The Supreme Court today permitted Andhra Pradesh to provide four per cent reservation in jobs and education for backward members of the Muslim community but referred the matter to a special bench the issue of its Constitutional validity.

A three-judge bench of the apex court observed, "Since it involves important questions of Constitution, we are referring the matter to a Constitution bench" for hearing in the second week of August.

Another BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay said, "Reservations on lines of religion, faith or sect are not good for Indian society. We will support any move to prevent such reservations."

The Opposition party has always regarded reservation for Muslims and Christians as a Congress move to appease minorities.

"We believe in equality of all and appeasement of none," BJP President Nitin Gadkari said in his first interaction with the press after taking over the top party post.