The Supreme Court on Thursday barred backward-class quota benefits for people solely based on their conversion to Islam. The BJP hailed this ruling as a historic move. Party leader Bhatia said, "The appeasement politics of the 'Congress Jinna Party' has got a massive blow after the judgement was delivered."
The BJP on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court's judgement that Hindus from backward classes cannot claim quota benefits under that category after converting to Islam, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The party called the ruling historic and said it was a "massive blow to the appeasement politics" of the Congress and other opposition parties.
The Supreme Court said the backwardness suffered under the earlier social order could not be carried forward after conversion. It also said a person following a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism could not be considered a member of a Scheduled Caste.
"The appeasement politics of the 'Congress Jinna Party' has got a massive blow after the judgement was delivered," Bhatia said. He alleged that the Congress had always advocated reservation for people professing Islam.
Bhatia claimed the judgement was also a "major blow" to the Samajwadi Party and the TMC, alleging that they had practised "appeasement politics" while in power in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, respectively.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government's plea against a Madras High Court order. The high court had held that a person converting to Islam could not claim reservation under the Backward Class (Muslim) category solely on the basis of conversion.
The Supreme Court upheld the high court order that had quashed the Tamil Nadu government's notification granting reservation to converted Muslims, saying the ruling required no interference.
The judgement denied backward-class quota benefits based solely on conversion to Islam, prompting the BJP to describe it as a setback to the Congress and other opposition parties.