Mayawati uses Narendra Modi remark to demand quota for Pasmandas

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent statement on 'suffering of Pasmanda Muslims' to demand reservation for the community. She asked the BJP to drop its opposition to reservation for Backward and Dalit Muslims and demanded BJP led state governments grant reservations to the community.

"PM Narendra Modi's public statement in a programme in Bhopal that 80% of Muslims living in India were Pasmandas, Backwards and discriminated against is an acknowledgement of the bitter ground reality facing them, which makes a case for reservation for such Muslims to improve their lives," the BSP supremo said.

"Therefore, BJP should drop its opposition to reservations to Backward Muslims and its governments should implement it in earnest and conclude the backlog of the recruitment process," she added.