Bring reservation for Muslims, fill recruitment backlog: Mayawati asks BJP

BSP president Mayawati on Friday made a fresh appeal to state BJP governments for the implementation of reservation for Muslims, taking her cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stating in Bhopal that 80 per cent of Indian Muslims came from backward classes.

The Bahujan Samaj Party leader in a tweet asked the BJP to "honestly" implement reservation and fill the backlog.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly saying at a BJP programme in Bhopal that 80 per cent of Muslims living in India are 'Pasmanda, backwards, exploited' is accepting the bitter reality that supports the need for reservation for Muslims."

She said the BJP should not only drop its opposition to reservation but must also "honestly implement reservation and fill the backlog in recruitment to prove that they are different from other parties."

Pushing for Uniform Civil Code during a programme in Bhopal on June 27, Modi said that Pasmanda Muslims were never treated as equal because of vote bank politics.

'Pasmanda' is a term used for backward classes among Muslims.

"They have not got any benefit. They do not get equal rights. They are considered untouchables," he said.

Modi said that in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and south India, especially Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, and a number of other states, many castes were left behind from development because of the policy of appeasement.

Modi said BJP will not follow the path of appeasement and vote bank politics. He also alleged that the opposition was using the UCC issue to incite the Muslim community.