Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Hooda on Wednesday alleged that the BJP has an anti-constitution and anti-reservation mindset and ate away reservations of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Campaigning for the party’s candidate Pooja Chaudhary in the Mulana Assembly constituency, Hooda slammed the BJP for its efforts to end reservations and reduce access to education. “The BJP has looted the reservation of Dalits and backward classes by ending permanent jobs and implementing Haryana Kaushal Rojgar Nigam,” he said at a public meeting in Barada.

“Similarly, by closing 5,000 government schools and handing over the government education system to private hands, the BJP has given the biggest blow to the reservation of the deprived classes. But now the time has come to curb this anti-constitutional policy of the BJP. This time the public has made up its mind to oust the BJP from power,” Hooda added.

Former CM said that this fight to save the Constitution and “reservation is not only political for us but also personal because the Constitution made by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, which gave reservation to the Dalits and backward classes, also has the signature of my father late Chaudhary Ranbir Singh Hooda”.

“He had also worked as a member in the Constituent Assembly under the leadership of Babasaheb. Therefore, we will not let the anti-constitution and anti-reservation plans of the BJP succeed under any circumstances,” the Congress leader said.

 Mayawati slams Rahul over his remarks on ‘scrapping reservation’

Lashing out at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, BSP supremo Mayawati on Wednesday alleged that he was adopting double standards on the reservation system for the Dalits and backward classes. Addressing a rally organised by the INLD-BSP alliance to mark the 111 birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal at Uchana Kalan in Jind, Mayawati projected Abhay Singh Chautala as the CM candidate and two deputy CMs, including one from the BSP, and other from backward or upper caste community.

The BSP supremo went whole hog against Rahul, who in the US, said the Congress would think of scrapping reservations when “India is a fair place”, which he said was not the case right now.

When he is in India and campaigns during elections, he changes his stand like a chameleon and claims that he’s in favour of the reservation system, said the BSP supremo.  “This is a double-standard policy of the Congress. The Dalits need to teach the Congress a lesson. Constitutional rights were given by Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar and not by the Congress,” she said.

“To protect the Constitution, you should neither vote for the Congress nor for the BJP. Both parties have not cleared their views on the Supreme Court’s August 1 judgment, which had mentioned ending creamy layer in the SC and put in a provision of sub-classification of quota system,” she said.

She said Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and other communities were left behind in terms of development. Terming the Congress and the BJP as “Jatiwadi” parties, she said the Dalits and backward classes had not got full benefits of the reservation to date.  “The BJP and other parties are not filling vacancies in the states ruled by them as they want to convert them into the general category,” she alleged.