'UPA trying to deviate from Constitution'

Addressing a meeting of leaders of various SC/ST organisations in Kerala, he said the UPA government 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 since it came to power.

"It is the Manmohan Singh government which for the first time tried to give reservation on the basis of religion and attempted to thrust the Dalit Christians and Muslims on the Scheduled Caste-Schedule Tribes," he said. The strength of the SC/ST community in Kerala is 350,000 and the Congress wants to put an additional burden on the community by bringing in another 450,000 Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims under this category of reservation, he said.

"I can understand your anguish and pain and I have come to identify myself with you," he said. "Not only the BJP, but the Constitution-makers are there with you. Their memories are also being violated by these attempts," he added.

Advani said though conversion is permitted in India, it was prohibited in many countries like Indonesia and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, conversion entails capital punishment. In India, the right to freedom of religion means freedom to convert.

"Our Constitution allows conversion," he said. The constitutional assembly of Independent India met and framed its Constitution, Advani said, adding that the "more one studies constitutional assembly debates, the more we will respect those who framed the Constitution like Dr Ambedkar, Sardar Patel and Nehru."

The original draft of the Constitution considered reservation for all sections of society. But following the 'bad experience' with separate electorates, which resulted in partition, the makers of the Constitution decided that there will be no reservation on the basis of religion, he said.

Due to centuries of neglect, SC/ST communities were educationally, socially and economically backward. Hence, it was decided to have reservation only for them. Later, a provision was added in the Constitution by which reservation for 'socially and educationally backward classes' was added.

Immediately after the function in which leaders of 34 SC/ST organisations participated, Advani left by helicopter to Kottayam.