We need 400 seats so that we can bring the Uniform Civil Code, Himanta Sarma said
Opposing the idea of providing reservations to Muslims, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday hit out at RJD chief Lalu Yadav over his advocacy for"complete reservation for Muslims" and suggested Lalu Yadav to move to Pakistan and then give reservations there.
Addressing a public rally in Raghunathpur, Siwan, on Saturday, the Assam CM said that no reservations will be made on the basis of religion.
"Few days back I saw the statement of Lalu Yadav, where he said that 'Muslims should get reservations'. Do Hindus don't deserve to get reservations? Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us the Constitution. In the Constitution, it is mentioned that SC, ST, and OBC should get reservations. There will be no reservations on the basis of religion. I want to say this, Lalu Yadav, if you want to give reservations to Muslims, then I will buy you the tickets to Pakistan, go to Pakistan and then give reservations there. It will never happen in India. There is no law on this. Yeh Sapna bhi aap mat dekho (don't dream of this)," Assam CM said.
Citing examples from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the Assam CM alleged that such measures came at the expense of other backward classes.
"Karnataka's decision to grant reservations to Muslims was done after robbing the reservations of Backward classes," he said.
The Assam CM asserted that to bring the entire Jammu and Kashmir to India, the Bharatiya Janata Party needs 400 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
"One part of Kashmir is in Pakistan. Give 400 seats to Modi ji and we will get Kashmir from Pakistan. We closed 700 madrassas in Assam and no one raised their voice against it. Why? Because this is a new India...Aaj mullah banane ka dukaan khulne nahi dunga. Doctor , engineer, banane ka kaam karunga...We need 400 seats so that we can bring the Uniform Civil Code, construct the Krishna Janambhoomi temple, construct the Gyanvapi temple and stop reservation to Muslims. That's why we need 400 seats," he said.
Earlier on May 7, former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav came out in support of the Muslim quota, saying that they should get the reservation. Speaking to reporters, the former CM said, "Muslims should get reservations (reservation toh milna chahiye Musalmano ko, pura'...)."
The 40 seats in Bihar are undergoing polls in all seven phases. In 2019, the BJP-led NDA swept the state by winning 39 out of 40 seats, while Congress won just one seat. RJD, a formidable force in the state, failed to open its account.
The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), the opposition coalition in Bihar, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and Left parties, recently announced that the RJD, its largest constituent, will contest 26 out of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats. As part of the NDA, BJP and JD(U) will contest on 17 and 16 seats, respectively.
Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest five seats, and Jitan Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha will contest one seat each.
The voting in Siwan will be held in the sixth phase of the elections on May 25. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)