Congress openly courting Muslim vote bank: BJP

New Delhi, Jan 20: Citing a UPA government's directive to step up recruitment from the minority community in police, banks and railways as yet another attempt to give reservation on the basis of religion, the BJP today said the Centre was explicitly courting the Muslim vote bank.

BJP Spokesman Prakash Javadekar said the communique issued by Secretary Department of Personnel to various Departments was not aimed at the welfare of the minority commuity but a political move to wooing the Muslim voters.

''Now it is explicitly doing it without any genuine concern for the welfare of these people. The Government knows that modern education was the key to remove unemployment among the youth but no effort was made in this direction,'' he alleged.

He said steps like the head count in army, religious based reservation in education and display of soft attitude towards terrorism, communalising the banking sector and call for the first claim for Muslims on resources were all examples of the Congress' vote bank politics.

''By pursuing this divisive politics, the Congress is trying to win back the minority votes in Uttar Pradesh and it reminds of the worst kind of communal politics practiced by the Muslim League in the pre-independence days,'' he alleged.

UNI