Lalu Prasad clarifies the quota for Muslims and says social backwardness is a basis for reservation

Patna May 7 (IANS): Hours after his comment that people from the Muslim community should be given full reservations triggered a political row, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav clarified in a video statement that the Mandal Commission’s recommendations provide reservations for more than 3,500 backward and extremely backward classes. , including many from other religions.

“Social backwardness, and not religion, is the basis for making reservations. The Prime Minister doesn’t even have that much understanding. We have implemented the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. More than 3,500 backward and extremely backward classes are getting reservations under the Mandal Commission recommendations, including many people from other religions,” Lalu Prasad said in a video message on X.

The clarification came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attacked the RJD chief for making a new quota pitch for Muslims, saying the INDI alliance cannot look beyond ‘appeasement’.

Addressing a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar, Prime Minister Modi slammed the INDI Alliance for Lalu Prasad’s statement ‘reservation must be for Muslims’ and said those who were in jail till some time ago are now backing religion-based reservations.

In his message, Lalu Prasad said, “They (BJP) do not understand the poor, backward and Dalit people better than we do. The RSS and the BJP have conspired to abolish the reservations in the Constitution of BR Ambedkar and Jannayak Karpuri. Thakur for a long time,” the RJD chief said.

“These people don’t believe in the Constitution. If they had, they would not have used divisive language that spreads hatred,” he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lalu Prasad said, “The BJP leaders are provoking the people by talking about ‘Jungle Raj’ in Bihar. They are just afraid of losing the elections and that is why they are trying to incite the people. to destroy reservations and democracies in India must be given full reservations.”

Lalu Prasad’s comments sparked a political row in Bihar, with BJP president and deputy CM Samrat Choudhary saying that special reservations cannot be given to people from the Muslim community.

“Today Lalu Prasad Yadav said that Muslims should be given reservations. We are against his comment. The BJP will not, under any circumstances, allow tinkering with reservations for the extremely backward classes, Dalits and others. No matter how hard Lalu Prasad tries, there will be no reservations based on religion,” Choudhary said.