BJP slams Congress for releasing poll manifesto in Jharkhand during silent period
BJP leader Sambit Patra accused the Congress of hatching a conspiracy in its manifesto for snatching reservation from the SCs, STs and OBCs to give it to the Muslims
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday accused the Congress of violating rules by releasing the party’s manifesto for the Jharkhand assembly elections during the 48-hour silent period on November 12.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, BJP leader Sambit Patra also accused the Congress of hatching a conspiracy in its manifesto for “snatching reservation from the SCs, STs and OBCs” to give it to the Muslims.
Jharkhand election officer K Ravi Kumar said that Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951prohibits any political action including the releasing of manifesto during the silent period. He said the election commission has received complaints about the Congress’ manifesto release, but an enquiry has to be conducted before coming to any conclusion on the matter. He said action will be taken if any violation is found after enquiry.
Responding to the matter, Congress manifesto committee chairman Bandhu Tirkey said his party is looking into the rules that prohibit political activities during the silent period. “We have already released the manifesto and I have just come to know about the BJP’s statement. We are currently looking into the relevant rules related to the matter. What more can we do for now?” he said.
On Tuesday, the Congress released its manifesto for the Jharkhand assembly elections, promising to conduct caste-based census, increase the creamy layer cap for other backward classes (OBCs) from the current annual income of ₹8 lakh to ₹10 lakh, increase the free power supply from existing 200 units to 250 units per month, and filling all vacant state government posts within a year.
The manifesto focused on seven promises including the 1932 Khatiyan (land records)-based domicile policy and implementation of Sarna religious code of the tribals.
“This is not a manifesto but the voice of the people of Jharkhand. We have worked for them and will continue to do so in the future,” Tirkey told reporters.
Patra said the Congress manifesto implicitly mentions providing quota to the Muslim community in line with the alleged proposal of 4% reservation to the Muslim community in Karnataka government tenders.
“The way the Congress conspired to snatch the lands from farmers and hand them over to the Waqf board, the Jharkhand manifesto has been brought by the Congress and JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) to realise such conspiracy,” he said.
Earlier, the BJP launched an attack on the Congress over the alleged considerations by the Karnataka government to provide a 4% reservation for Muslims in government tenders for civil works valued up to ₹1 crore. Dismissing the claims, chief minister Siddaramaiah said there was no such proposal in front of the government.
“A report has been published in some media that a proposal to give reservations to Muslims in jobs is before the government. It is true that there has been a demand for reservation. However, it has been clarified that there is no proposal before the government in this regard,” the chief minister’s office said in a statement.