Odishatv Bureau
Patna: Janata Dal(United), a key NDA ally, today criticised Congress for bolstering the strength of `Hindutva` and trying to break the standing social alliance between OBCs and minorities "for garnering votes in UP assembly polls", party`s national spokesman Shivanand Tiwari alleged today.

Reacting to the Centre`s decision to carve out a sub-quota of 4.5 per cent for minorities within the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, Tiwari described it as "unfortunate".

"What have you (the Congress) done, you don`t know really... the Congress has played a role to help bolster the strength of Hindutva and demolish the social alliance between the OBCs and minorities continuing ever since BJP leader L K Advani embarked on a rath yatra on the Ayodhya issue", Tiwari said.

"We were the real forces to check the rise of Hindutva after Mandal Commission and the social alliance between the OBCs and minorities came in handy at that time to stop the forces of Hindutva from raising their ugly heads", Tiwari told PTI.

Tiwari said had the Congress been really interested for providing sub-quota within the OBCs quota for minorities, it would have made necessary amendments to the Constitution and raised the quota limits.

"It is a fact that the condition of minorities, SCs/ STs, OBCs and other extremely backwards is bad... they suffer from health hazards because of malnutrition, illiteracy and weakness", Tiwari said adding they all deserved the right for reservation for their uplift.

"If Congress really wants that the OBCs and minorities` social cohesion continue and stop the rise of Hindutva, it should explore the way for hiking the quota limit to adjust minorities, particularly Pasmanda Samaj", he said.

"I think the leadership of minorities and OBCs will realise the impact of the decision and will not not support the Congress` stance", he said. He urged the Congress to rethink and roll back the decision.

scrollToTop