Kolkata:
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi
Tuesday said that reservation in the name of religion is
“unconstitutional” and his party would oppose it.
“Any reservation in the name of religion is unconstitutional. It’s a
conspiracy to divide the nation. The BJP will oppose this move,”
Joshi said at a press conference here at Kolkata Press Club.
He said the West
Bengal government had decided to adopt the Ranganath Mishra
Commission’s recommendations when the centre has not taken any
concrete decision on it.
“Backwardness in
India has no connection with religion,” he added.
The Left
government in West Bengal Monday announced 10 per cent reservation
in government jobs for other backward classes among the Muslims.
Talking about
Maoist violence in West Bengal and other eastern India states, Joshi
said the central government must hold talks with all the state
governments to resolve the Maoist issue.
“The Congress
has been hand and glove with the Maoists in states like Andhra
Pradesh but now when the cat is out of the bag the Home Minister P.
Chidambaram is busy holding meetings across the country,” he
alleged.
“We had pointed
this when a police official was abducted by the Maoists and was
declared prisoner of war, we had warned him… the talks should have
started then only… better late than never,” he said.
Joshi also
blamed the central government for its “wrong policies” which led the
food price rise and inflation across the country.
“The price rise
is solely due to the wrong policies of the Congress-led United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Although the major
responsibility lies with (Agriculture Minister) Sharad Pawar but it
is the entire government that has to share the blame for this
continuous price rise,” he said.
|