Azam Khan pulls up Congress over Muslim reservation row

Rampur, Feb 12 (ANI): Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan on Sunday accused the ruling Congress Party of trying to achieve cheap publicity by giving false hopes to the Muslim community in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

"The Congress party is trying to achieve very cheap publicity. During elections, one should not announce such things because such announcements are very politically motivated if their conscious was clear, if they wanted to do something for the people they shouldn't have lied earlier," he told the media here.

Khan said the Congress Party cheated Muslims by saying backward minority's reservation as Muslims reservation.

"They shouldn't have said that this is a Muslim reservation, they cheated Muslims by saying backward minority's reservation as Muslims reservation, they have not been included in the reservation, and half percent reservation is nothing as Muslim community is country's second largest population," said Khan.

"So, saying that we will give nine percent reservation is wrong. We want to know what all Congress party wants to do and why only during elections. The promises, which Congress is doing now, why haven't they done it 20 years back," he added.

Calling it to be a 'down-market political move' during the elections to attain governance in Uttar Pradesh, Khan said the Congress Party has played with the emotions of the entire community by announcing nine percent reservation for Muslims.

He further said that the Samajwadi Party would give all reservation to the people as the party had mentioned in their manifesto.

Union Law Minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid, while campaigning for his wife Louise, a Congress candidate from Farrukhabad assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh, had promised the electorate that the party would increase the sub-quota for minorities to nine per cent, out of the 27 percent Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation.

However, the Election Commission slapped Khurshid with a notice, saying his remarks had violated the model code of conduct.

Firing a salvo against Khurshid, Khan said the attitude of the Congress Party of fooling people by making false promises reflect their dishonest, cheap and political inefficiency.

"All these are cheap talks. Firstly, when I put the Batla issue before him then he started crying like somebody has made a dialogue of the film 'Devdaas' (Bollywood film) and two hours after, he crossed the limit of decorum, cheapness and political inefficiency, country's Law Minister didn't stand on his remark and lied by saying that he cannot make such remarks," said Khan.

"People of the country now know the true face of the Congress minister, having watched both videos on television. They know that the Congress ministers are dishonest and political opportunists," he added.

Salman Khurshid had earlier said that he would continue to put forward his views on job quota to backward Muslims despite Election Commission's censure. (ANI)