'Ambedkar said reservation cannot be given on basis of religion,' Assam CM Himanta's jibe at Congress

Bengaluru (Karnataka): Lashing out at the Congress in poll-bound Karnataka, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that reservation cannot be on the basis of religion but the grand old party still wants to give a reservation to Muslims.

"Babasaheb Ambedkar had said that reservation cannot be given on the basis of religion. This is the basis of our constitution...Today Congress is saying that we will give reservations to the Muslims," said Sarma in Bengaluru.

Hitting out at Congress for its poll promise to ban the Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, he said that its manifesto "looks like that of Popular Front of India" while alleging that the party is saying so to "appease Muslims".

"PFI is already banned. Siddaramaiah government withdrew cases against PFI during their tenure. So they (Congress) are saying to ban PFI and Bajrang Dal to appease Muslims. Congress' manifesto looks like the manifesto of PFI and some fundamentalist Muslim organizations," Sarma said while speaking to the media.

This comes after the Congress party on Tuesday in its manifesto for the upcoming May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections said it will take "decisive action" as per law including banning organisations like Bajrang Dal, the Popular Front of India and others.

Biswa said that the Implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will ensure gender justice and equal rights for Muslim women in the southern state. Notably, the BJP has promised to implement UCC in Karnataka if the party returns to power.  "Karnataka BJP made a very bold commitment and it will usher a nationwide demand for the implementation of UCC across the country," Biswa said, adding that nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) is the need of the hour.

The BJP has intensified its final leg of campaigning with top BJP guns holding massive rallies and roadshows in the southern state, the only state in the south belt where the saffron party is holding on to power.

The ruling BJP released its manifesto for the Karnataka elections on Monday.

(ANI)