BJP for OBC reservation in IITs/IIMs :Dattatreya

Hyderabad, Apr 11 (UNI) Making it clear that the BJP was in principle for reservation to Other Backward Classes in premier IITs and IIMs, BJP National Secretary Bandaru Dattatreya today said his party was opposed to the Congress making the announcement on the eve of elections in some states with an ulterior motive of gaining political mileage.

The UPA Government should have convened an all party meet and introduce the required bill in Parliament instead of trying to improve the prospects of the Congress in the Assembly elections in alleged violation of the Election Commission's model code of conduct, he said.

Mr Dattatreya, who is also incharge of the party affairs in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, addressing a press conference here to announce the entry of the Bharat Suraksha Yatra into Andhra Pradesh on April 15 to cover 850 km in seven backward districts of Rayalaseema and Telangana region in four days, challenged the UPA Government to enact a law to introduce reservation for OBCs/SCs/STs in minority-run educational institutions.

Demanding that the Congress as also the Left parties and the TDP make their stands known on ''Hyderabad turning a hub for Jihadi terrorists,'' he claimed that ''Islamic terrorist'' were behind various terrorist strikes, including the attacks in Varanasi and on the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Coming down heavily on former Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu for questioning the need for former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani going on a Rath yatra, he contended that the TDP was competing in appeasing minorities with the Congress, which had turned Andhra Pradesh a ''laboratory for introducing alleged unconstititonal religion-based reservation for Muslim minorities.'' The Yatra was only to create public awareness about the increasing problems posed by ''Left-wing extremism and Islamic terrorism and appeasement of minorities,'' he added.

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