'JD(S) against religion based reservation': Kumaraswamy clears party stance amid Muslim quota row

Kumaraswamy also said that JD(S) and BJP have already jointly participated in several pro-people struggles and will continue to do so in the future as well.

New Delhi: Insisting that the Janata Dal (Secular) is against the religion based reservation, the party leader and Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said reservation should be based on providing social justice to deprived sections of the society.

Dismissing media reports that JD(S) and BJP were not on the same page on the Congress ruled Karnataka government's decision to provide reservation to Muslim in contracts, Kumaraswamy said these news reports were far from truth and completely baseless.

"Reservation is not religion-based. It stands on the foundation of social justice and must continue to do so. This is JD (S)'s unwavering stand," he said in a statement here.

He also pointed out that ahead of the state legislative session, an NDA Coordination Committee meeting was held in Bengaluru, where all issues were discussed in detail. "The strategy for fighting against the government was formulated in that meeting, and I personally participated in it," he said in the statement.

Accusing the Congress government of misusing the reservation policy for electoral gains, Kumaraswamy stated, "The Congress government is destroying the fundamental concept of social justice purely for vote-bank politics. It is using reservation as a tool for appeasement and misleading the people of the state. Congress is creating reservation anarchy across the country."

He also said that JD(S) and BJP have already jointly participated in several pro-people struggles and will continue to do so in the future as well.