BJP leader Ashoka takes dig at Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Reacting to the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah telling the BJP that their protest against Rahul Gandhi’s anti-reservation remarks is like the butcher protesting against animal cruelty, Leader of the Opposition in Assembly and former Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka said the devil can’t preach.

He was reacting to a social media post by Siddaramaiah, in which the Chief Minister took a swipe at BJP leaders for their anti-reservation sentiments.

“A CM, whose govt is accused of siphoning ₹187 crore meant for the welfare of Scheduled Tribe communities, talking about reservations is like ‘devil quoting the scriptures,” Ashoka posted on X on Friday.

He also pointed out that former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru in a letter dated June 27, 1961, expressed his reservations about the tradition of caste-based quotas and privileges.

Further, he said Nehru wrote, “I dislike any kind of reservation, more particularly in service. I react strongly against anything which leads to inefficiency and second-rate standards.” He also said former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi never implemented the Mandal Commission Report that was submitted to her in 1980.

“She coined a slogan: ‘Na Jaat Par Na Paat Par, Mohar Lagegi Haath Par.’ Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in an interview in March 1985 said: ‘No promotion of idiots in the name of reservation and that promoting idiots in the name of reservation would harm the entire country.’ And now Congress says that the BJP is against SC, ST and OBCs. Isn’t it ironic?” Ashoka wrote in the post.

The war of words between the Congress and BJP started a few days ago after Rahul Gandhi said at Georgetown University in the USA, “We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place. And India is not a fair place.” Gandhi was answering a question regarding the future of reservations in India.