Congress, Samajwadi Party trying to entrap Muslims: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday on Sunday attacked Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party on Muslim reservation issue saying these parties are trying to "entrap" the Muslims with the "expired salve" of secularism and religious reservation.

Addressing a minority rally in Mundha Pandey here, BJP National Vice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi dubbed these parties "traditional and professional exploiters" of Muslims and minorities.

"Muslims are well aware of the fact that the same parties are responsible for the backwardness, unemployment, poor economic conditions and educational backwardness of the community, in spite of that fact the same political parties manage to capture power on the basis of their massive Muslim support," Naqvi said.

Neither the Congress, nor the Samajwadi Party or the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, while in power, seriously and honestly worked for the socio-economic and educational development of the minorities, he said.

Pointing out that proportion of Muslims in the government jobs had come down by 42 per cent during the last decade in Uttar Pradesh, Naqvi said that it went up in the BJP or NDA ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh by 31, 38, 34 and 24 per cent, respectively during the same period.

"This shows that without religious reservation, the social status of minority community can be improved if sincere efforts with honest political will are made," he said.

Now, terrorism is being given a communal angle and it is used by all for vote-bank politics, the BJP leader said while charging the Congress with raking up the Batla House encounter while trying to woo voters of a particular community.