New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday slammed Congress over its promise to restore quota for Muslims in Karnataka and talking of an increase in quota to six per cent and said that the party should make it clear if it will slash the benefits of SCs, STs, Lingayats or Vokkaligas.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Shah said Siddaramaiah should clarify that if Congress increases the reservation for Muslims from 4 per cent to 6 per cent, then whose reservation it will cut down.
He said the Congress leader should make the party's stand clear before the campaign for Karnataka polls ends on Monday.
"Reservation within reservation done with a lot of thought...Before the end of campaigning for Karnataka elections, Siddaramaiah must clarify that if Congress increases the reservation for Muslims from 4 per cent to 6 per cent, whose reservation would they decrease - OBCs, or SCs or STs or Lingayats, or Vokkaligas?" Shah asked.
Shah said the BJP government in Karnataka had ended four per cent reservation for Muslims as it is "unconstitutional".
"There is no provision for reservation on the basis of religion in our Constitution. Congress had given Muslim reservations to consolidate the vote bank under the appeasement policy which we have revoked," he said.
Congress leader and former Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha K Rahman Khan had told the media that if the party comes to power in Karnataka, Muslim reservation can be increased from 4 per cent to 6 per cent.
Siddaramaiah, a former chief minister, said the Congress is committed "to increasing the reservation limit from 50 per cent to 75 per cent and extend reservation to all castes based on their population".
