How is NDA's Muslim-only scholarship scheme different from Congress' 'appeasement politics', questions AAP

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday criticized the scholarship scheme for Muslim students announced by the NDA government questioning as to how the scheme was different from the "appeasement politics" that BJP accused Congress of indulging in.

"The Muslim scholarship is being publicized by the government with great fanfare. AAP welcomes the fact that the NDA government's attention has been drawn to Muslim students. But the question is - why discriminate between students on religious grounds? How is this different from the same appeasement politics that BJP used to accuse the Congress of indulging in?" AAP leader Sanjay Singh said while addressing a press conference.

Singh demanded that all students, regardless of the community they belong to should be given scholarships for education.

"Such schemes should not be on religious grounds alone," he said.

"We all remember the kind of language used by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his party and its leaders in the run-up to the election against minorities in the country. The sharp distinction between then and now is clearly visible to the people of the country. The BJP's hypocrisy on the issue stands exposed," Singh added.

On June 11, Union Ministry for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had said, "To ensure socio-economic-educational empowerment of minorities especially girls through '3Es- Education, Employment and Empowerment,' various scholarships including pre-matric, post-matric, merit-cum-means, etc will be provided to five crore students in next five years.