Akhilesh Yadav congratulates Rahul Gandhi for his 'strong determination', calls him 'rare person'
Lucknow, Mar 17: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday congratulated former Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his "strong determination" on the occasion of the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, and described him as a "rare person".
Rahul Gandhi concluded his 63-day-old Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai by paying tributes to Dr B R Ambedkar at his memorial Chaityabhoomi in central Mumbai and reading the Preamble of the Constitution.
On Sunday, Akhilesh Yadav along with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was scheduled to take part in the event. However, the SP chief did not attend the event.
In a letter dated March 17, written to Gandhi by Yadav, the SP chief said, "Today your Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is concluding in Mumbai. Rare are those people, who can take out such 'yatra'. Heartiest congratulations to you for your strong determination.
"You started this yatra from Manipur, which is burning due to the failure of the BJP government. You have given a strong message against the dictator government from the north-east. During the course of the entire yatra, you met (people from) all the sections of the society, including farmers, youngsters, women, elderly and you got acquainted with their problems very closely," Yadav said.
The SP chief went on to say, "The Election Commission yesterday announced the elections. Nominations will begin in UP from March 20, and owing to its preparations, I will not be able to attend the closing programme of the yatra.
"Not only hopeful, but fully confident that the public will uproot and throw out the BJP, which is against the farmers, youngsters, backwards, Dalits and women. The real success of the yatra will be that the BJP gets defeated in these elections," Yadav said.
The former Congress president was accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday.
The yatra, which commenced from strife-torn Manipur on January 14, entered Mumbai from neighbouring Thane on the 63rd day on Saturday.
On February 21, INDIA bloc partners SP and Congress announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the UP's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats in the state for the ally.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party will contest on a single seat, Khajuraho, and support the Congress in the remaining constituencies in the state.
Among the 17 seats on which the Congress will contest in UP include Rae Bareli and Amethi, once considered pocket boroughs of the party, and Varanasi which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency.
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4% quota for Muslim contractors: BJP to challenge K'taka's 'unconstitutional move' in court
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Mar 17 (PTI): The BJP on Monday termed the Karnataka government’s proposal to provide four per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts an "unconstitutional misadventure" and said it will oppose the move at all levels, including challenging it in court, until it is rolled back.
The ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP hit out at each other over the issue in the Assembly.
Earlier on Friday, the Cabinet approved an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, reserving four per cent of contracts for Muslims in civil works valued up to Rs two crore and goods/services contracts up to Rs one crore.
"The BJP firmly opposes the proposed unconstitutional move and demands that the Siddaramaiah government immediately roll it back," BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who represents the Bangalore South Lok Sabha seat, told a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
He alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led government’s decision was a "calculated move" to appease Muslims, "at the direction and patronage of the Congress top leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi."
"This patently unconstitutional and prima facie illegal act will be challenged in court. The BJP will fight against the move both inside the Assembly and on the streets. We will also raise the issue in Parliament and protest outside it," Surya said.
The BJP MP said that the Karnataka government’s move is a threat to national integrity, unity, and sovereignty.
"We will fight and oppose this in the courtroom. We will take the fight to the people of Karnataka. Until this unconstitutional move is rolled back, the BJP’s fight will continue," he added.
Meanwhile, in the Karnataka Assembly, the ruling Congress and the BJP once again sparred on Monday over the budgetary provision of four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts.
The Congress rejected the BJP’s allegation that religion-based reservation is "against constitutional provisions."
Defending the reservation, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists are citizens of this country.
"We have concerns for minorities and backward communities. When the BJP says it wants to take everyone along, let it appoint Christian and Muslim ministers. Only then does BJP state president B Y Vijayendra have the right to speak about equality. Let him read the state anthem written by Kuvempu—then he will understand what makes Karnataka a peaceful garden," Shivakumar told reporters.
Hitting back at Shivakumar, Vijayendra said that it was the BJP government, not the Congress, that had appointed Dr A P J Abdul Kalam as the President of India.
"We appointed Najma Heptulla, Justice Abdul Nazeer, and Arif Mohammed Khan as governors. Musician Ustad Bismillah Khan was bestowed with the Bharat Ratna by the BJP government," Vijayendra told reporters.
According to him, Congress's appeasement politics is not new.
He questioned the Congress party’s concern for Dalits, asking where it was when its MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy’s house was "torched by Muslim hooligans".
The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, claimed that several Supreme Court judgments have stated that there is no provision in the Constitution for religion-based reservations.
"Yet, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wore a ‘topi’ (skull cap), organised Tipu Jayanti, and introduced Shaadi Bhagya (launched in 2013, it provides financial assistance to economically backward minority women). He gave grants to Muslims beyond what they had asked for. Now, by offering four per cent reservation in contracts to Muslims, the Congress government has made an assault on Hindus," he alleged.
Ashoka argued that there had never been a religion-based contract system in Karnataka, but the government had introduced one, which could lead to conflicts between communities.
In the Karnataka Legislative Council, Leader of the Opposition, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy raised the issue.
He said that religion-based reservation is "not allowed under the Constitution."
"You have granted four per cent reservation to Muslims in contracts. We oppose religion-based reservations. I urge the government through you not to implement it," he stated.
Countering him, Congress MLA B K Hariprasad asserted that the reservation aligns with constitutional provisions.
