UPA bent on dividing country through reservation: BJP

Jabalpur, Apr 11: BJP Vice-President Sumitra Mahajan has accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime of dividing the country by providing more and more reservation to minorities.

''By its policies, the UPA government is attempting to alter India's identity. The number of infiltrators is on the rise in West Bengal, Assam and other North-Eeastern states but such persons are being included in the voters' list,'' the former Union Minister of state for Communications told UNI here.

She alleged that, instead of drafting stringent anti-infiltration legislation, the regime was amending existing laws and providing a license to infiltrators to reside in this country and actually inviting more infiltration.

''By imposing reservation on a premier institution such as the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), the Centre is trying to again create the anti-Mandal atmosphere generated during the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government,''she added.

Ms Mahajan, who is representing Indore for the fifth consecutive time in the Lok Sabha, responded to a question by saying the Centre failed to check both terrorism and the naxal problem and as a direct consequence separatist forces were raising their heads again.

''Due to the United Liberation Front of Asom's violent activities, that state's tea gardens are winding up and Assam faces the danger of a spurt in unemployment. Recently, police atrocities resulted in the murder of a political leader in Tinsukia. When locals took to the streets in protest, police firing slew eleven persons,'' Ms Mahajan said.

Replying to another query, she said Congress President Sonia Gandhi's resignations from various posts, in the wake of her quitting as MP, were sending across a clear message to the public that Ms Gandhi had been occupying several offices of profit.

Ms Mahajan, who is her party's Jharkhand in charge, said, ''Despite being in the majority by a single vote in the assembly, the BJP is successfully running a government under Mr Arjun Munda.'' Describing naxalism as a national problem, and not restricted to Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh, Ms Mahajan said the Centre ought to take solid steps in the wake of deliberations after establishing coordination with Chief Ministers of states concerned.

''Naxalism should be treated as a subject on the Constitution's Central list,'' she added.

UNI