Congress is spreading lies about BJP’s ‘conspiracy’ to end reservation, says MP

“The Congress is spreading lies about the BJP hatching a ‘conspiracy’ to end the reservation. However, if the BJP does something like that, I will not only leave the BJP, but also quit politics,” Ramesh Jigajinagi, MP and BJP leader, said in Vijayapura on Friday.

He told reporters that for several decades, Congress had won a series of elections by keeping the voters in the dark. Some Congress leaders keep intimidating Dalit voters by saying the BJP would end reservation one day. “They paint a scary picture of the BJP being involved in a ‘conspiracy’ to end caste-based reservations, but that is not true. The reservation facility can never be removed. It is our constitutionally guaranteed right. However, if the BJP does that, I will not stay there. Why should I stay in such a party? In fact, I will quit public service and stay at home,” he said.

“I am sure that BJP leaders do not even think of removing the reservation facility for the deprived classes. I am a beneficiary of the facility. I was made a Member of Parliament and Minister in the past, due to it. I gained respect because of it. However, caste-based discrimination continues in society even today. It needs to be addressed by the government and society,” he said.

He demanded that the State government approach the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court judgment that struck down the hike in the reservation quota for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. “The Congress should demonstrate its commitment towards the welfare of the deprived classes. It is not enough for Congress leaders to go around making speeches about Dalits. It should show real commitment and file an appeal. It should convince the apex court that the 50% quota slab has been breached in several cases, including in Tamil Nadu. It was the BJP government that had hiked the quota, but the Congress failed to argue the case properly before the High Court,” the MP said.