Nadda Blasts Banerjee for Alleged Appeasement Politics Following Calcutta HC Verdict

BJP chief JP Nadda accused West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee of promoting appeasement politics after the Calcutta High Court struck down the OBC status granted to several classes since 2010. Nadda claimed the Trinamool Congress advanced a Muslim League agenda and stressed the importance of constitutional adherence.

BJP chief JP Nadda claimed on Thursday that the Calcutta High Court order to strike down the OBC status given to several classes in West Bengal has shown that the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government had been unconditionally promoting appeasement politics.

In a statement, Nadda alleged, ''It can be said that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had been advancing the agenda of (the) Muslim League.'' People will teach the TMC a lesson in the polls, he asserted and added that the party is sure to lose massively.

The high court on Wednesday struck down as illegal the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal granted since 2010, sparking a political debate in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections.

The court observed that the inclusion of 77 classes of Muslims in the list of backward categories was to treat them as a ''vote bank''. Nadda said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted during the election campaign how INDIA bloc leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Banerjee have been violating the Constitution with their appeasement politics -- an apparent reference to their alleged pro-Muslim politics.

The Constitution makes it clear that reservation cannot be given on the basis of religion but the INDIA bloc has been promoting the same Muslim League agenda that divided India, he claimed.

Flaying Banerjee for saying that she would not accept the high court order, Nadda asked if she considers herself above the Constitution.

While expressing her opposition to the verdict, Banerjee also added that her government would challenge the order in a higher court.

Nadda accused her of disrespecting the Constitution and said she should realise that she had taken oath on it.

Taking a swipe at Gandhi, who, he noted, has been carrying copies of the Constitution, Nadda said he and other opposition leaders have chosen to maintain silence over the issue as it highlights their appeasement politics.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)