"BJP opposed to any kind of reservation on basis of religion": UP CM Yogi Adityanath

GORAKHPUR: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared on Tuesday that the people of the nation would not accept the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and INDIA bloc agenda to grant reservation to a specific religious group, thereby jeopardizing the constitutional framework and encroaching upon the reservation meant for backward and scheduled castes.

Interacting with the media at the Gorakhnath temple complex, the Chief Minister underscored, "The Bharatiya Janata Party staunchly opposes any form of reservation based on religion because the common people have suffered the brunt of partition of India on the basis of religion. The BJP firmly supports reservation benefits for SC-ST and OBC communities."

He remarked that the history of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and their associates within the INDIA bloc is well-known to all.

"The Congress has a track record of undermining Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar's Constitution. Since its adoption in 1950, Congress persistently attempted to manipulate the Constitution for its own ends, often disregarding fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression. Governance is meant for the people, and public sentiments ought to be honoured, a principle the Congress failed to grasp," CM Yogi said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighted that the populace hasn't forgotten the Emergency period, and the incident of 'strangulating the Constitution of the country'.

"Along with this, the people of the country also remember the sins that Congress committed during the UPA government. Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party were allies of Congress in the UPA government at that time," he added.

CM Yogi asserted that the Congress had endeavoured to deprive the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes of their rights through initiatives like the Justice Ranganath Mishra Committee and Sachar Committee, engaging in actions contrary to the constitution across the nation. Subsequently, Congress maliciously attempted to introduce reservations based on religion.

He continued, "The ulterior motive of the then Congress government was to cut 6 per cent of the 27 per cent reservation meant for OBC and give it to a community as part of its appeasement politics. Similarly, through the Sachar Committee, efforts were made to include certain Muslim castes by encroaching upon the reservations allocated for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes."

The Chief Minister emphasized that the strong opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party thwarted the intentions of the then Congress government.

Otherwise, within the same UPA government, Congress would have endeavoured to undermine OBC and SC-ST reservations by introducing religion-based reservations nationwide, he pointed out.

CM Yogi remarked that Congress has already initiated religious-based reservations in Karnataka by infringing upon the OBC reservation. The Election Commission has also demanded a report from the Karnataka government regarding this issue, he informed.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the BJP fully respects Baba Saheb Dr Ambedkar and all the framers of the Constitution.

He stated, "The BJP is committed to fulfilling its constitutional obligations with sincerity, in accordance with the vision of the Constitution makers, recognizing the Constitution of India as the supreme guiding principle. Bharatiya Janata Party is the only party that has fully respected the values and ideals of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Panchatirthas have been constructed. The idea of celebrating the year 2025 as the National Tribal Pride Year has been included in our Sankalp Patra."

In response to a question, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remarked that the leadership of Congress has proven to be a complete failure. He noted, "Even members within the Congress party itself lack trust in their leadership."

He elaborated, "This is evident as Congress candidates are withdrawing from electoral contests in certain regions, state presidents are resigning, and at some places, the declared candidates are withdrawing their candidature and taking membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party. As a result, in their frustration, the remaining leaders of Congress are resorting to baseless and concocted accusations."

CM Yogi asserted that the public is well aware of the true nature of the leaders within the Congress, SP, and the INDIA bloc, and they will not allow their agendas to come to fruition.