Eye on poll: BJP opposes reservation for Dalit Muslims, Christians

New Delhi, Apr 28 (UNI) With an eye on forthcoming Delhi Assembly election, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party today opposed reservation for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians.

Addressing a seminar on 'Anusuchit Jati Arakshan Bachao' (save SC reservation), several BJP leaders, while hailing Dr B R Ambedkar attacked the UPA government for ''planning to implement reservation for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians'' at the cost of Scheduled Caste Hindus.

''When they have converted to other religions, there is no point in providing them with reservation from the quota meant for SCs,'' said BJP national vice-president Anita Arya.

BJP national general secretary Thavarchand Gehlot claimed that while earlier Congress leaders tried to sideline Dr Ambedkar, the present leadership was using is name to gain votes ahead of election. ''It is a sorry state of affairs...the BJP is the only party which had been following the principles of Dr Ambedkar in letter and in spirit,'' he added.

Meanwhile, as most of the delegates had started leaving the venue in the middle of the programme, BJP workers locked the doors of the auditorium, where the seminar was being held to stop others from leaving.

A few days ago, senior BJP leader L K Advani had also accused the Congress-led UPA government of attempting to deviate from the Constitution by proposing reservation on the basis of religion to bring Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims under the ambit of SC/ST reservation.

He said the UPA government, since it came to power, had been trying to make two major deviations in the Constitutional scheme adopted by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel and followed by all governments till 2004.

''It is the Manmohan Singh government which for the first time tried to give reservation on the basis of religion and attempting to thrust the Dalit Christians and Muslims on the Scheduled Caste-Schedule Tribes,'' he added.

UNI NAB MIR AS2000