BJP, Oppn at loggerheads overEAC-PM paper on population

 'The question arises that if by this pace the population is increasing and Congress is hell bent upon giving reservation to the Muslims on the basis of population, they will cut the share of the SCs, STs and the OBCs' 

PTI, New Delhi, 09.05.24 :  The BJP on Thursday expressed concern over the pace of increase in Muslim population in the country and wondered its impact on the reservation provided to SCs, STs and OBCs, claiming the Congress is “hell bent” on providing quota to the minority community if voted to power.

The ruling party’s reaction came after a recent working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) said the share of the Hindu population decreased by 7.82 per cent between 1950 and 2015 in India, while that of Muslims increased by 43.15 per cent, suggesting that there is a conducive environment in the country to foster diversity. The paper titled ‘Share of Religious Minorities: A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015)’ further said the share of Jains in the population of India decreased from 0.45 per cent in 1950 to 0.36 per cent in 2015.

The report comes ahead of the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls. “It’s a very well-known fact, which has been in the public domain for around a decade. If you see the 1951 census, Hindus were having 88 per cent population and Muslims 9.5 per cent. In the 2011 census, Hindus (population) reduced to 79.8 percent from 80 percent while Muslims’ percentage went up by more than 14.5,” BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told PTI, when asked for comment.

“But, the question arises that if by this pace the population is increasing and Congress is hell bent upon giving reservation to the Muslims on the basis of population, they will cut the share of the SCs, STs and the OBCs,” he added.

Trivedi said the Congress, if voted to power will, then keep on “changing” the share of reservation in future with increase in the Muslim population, “which is more likely because they (Muslims) are having possibility of multiple marriages”. Muslims share in the reservation will keep on increasing also because of “conversion and infiltration because they are having a secular cover from them (the Congress)”, he added.

“So this is a bigger question and a bigger challenge which they (Congress) have to answer,” the BJP spokesperson said. Senior BJP leader and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the EAC-PM’s report raises many questions because one particular community is “increasing its population in a manner where demography of India is being altered, changed”.

“This leads to some questions that need to be asked and answered,” he said, adding “How much of growth in Muslim community is being caused by illegal immigration and conversion?” he asked. “What is the impact of this significant increase in the minority community’s (Muslims) population on the rights and opportunities (available) for the other minority communities? There are Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians. Is there any crowding out of these minority communities as a consequence of this (rise in Muslim population)?” Chandrasekhar asked. He alleged that some political parties including the Congress are making “huge attempt to alter the Constitution and bring religion based reservation”.

“So, what will be the consequence when you have the Muslim community increasing its population so rapidly, from 9 per cent to 14.5 per cent and there are political forces that want to give them reservation,” he told PTI. “What will be the consequence of that on the OBC, SC and ST communities who suffered for centuries in India and have been excluded from development,” he said, adding that these are the questions which needs to be asked and answered because they will shape the future of India.

Chandrasekhar said: adding "How much of growth in Muslim community is being caused by illegal immigration and conversion?" "What is the impact of this significant increase in the minority community's (Muslims)population on the rights and opportunities (available) for the other minority communities? There are Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians. Is there any crowding out of these minority communities as a consequence of this (rise in Muslim population)?" the Union minister asked. 

He alleged that some political parties including the Congress are making" huge attempt to alter the Constitution and bring religion based reservation". "So, what will be the consequence when you have the Muslim community increasing its population so rapidly, from nine per cent to 14.5 per cent and there are political forces that want to give them reservation," he told newspersons. 

"What will be the consequence of that on the OBC,SC and ST communities who suffered for centuries in India and have been excluded from development," he said, adding that these are the questions which needs to be asked and answered because they will shape the future of India.

However, Opposition leaders accused the BJP of trying to create communal divide over the report. CPI general secretary D Raja and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Union government for not conducting the census, and called the working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) an attempt to get votes by creating strife. Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh meanwhile used the report to target the Congress, and alleged that Hindu population in the country has gone down due to its politics of appeasement. Asked about the report, Yadav said the BJP is trying to spread hatred.

"The census that was to happen in 2020-21 has not been done till now, it's 2024... Their aim is only to mislead the people of the country, and to spread hatred. This is the agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP. They have fooled people of this country for ten years, and they want to do that again," he alleged. Raja questioned the timing of the report and said: "Why has the PM's economic advisory council come out with this report at a time when the country is going for elections? 

The Prime Minister is already trying to polarise people in the name of Muslims, talking about handing over keys of Ram Mandir to Muslims... he is taking up all such issues. That means there is an attempt to polarise people by bringing out such data. People should be cautious of such reports.

"The CPI leader said it is a "study between 1950 and 2015. Mr Modi came to power in 2014. This government has not conducted any census, has not given any data for those who died due to Covid. They have not given any data on migrant workers, or prevailing poverty. But how was this data collected?" Singh, the Union Rural Development Minister who is fighting from the Begusarai seat in Bihar, said some people want to mislead the nation, but the truth cannot be hidden. "In 1947, we had around 88 per cent Hindu population, now we are 70 percent. Muslims were eight percent, now government figures say they are 15-16 per cent, I would say they are 20 percent..." Singh claimed.

"Congress made this country a 'dharmshala' (inn). In 1971, the Bangladeshi infiltrators who came, made India and Bihar a sanctuary for Rohingyas, Bangladeshis... They were converted into a vote bank, it was a conspiracy to finish Sanatan. Now they are giving reservations through the backdoor...," he alleged.

"Hindu population is decreasing, Muslim population is increasing... It shows that in the days to come, they want to make India an Islamic state, "the Union minister claimed. According to the working paper" Share of Religious Minorities: 

A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015)", share of the Hindu population decreased by 7.82 percent between 1950 and 2015 (from84.68 per cent to 78.06 per cent). The share of Muslim population in 1950was 9.84 per cent and increased to 14.09 per cent in 2015 -- a 43.15 percent increase in their share, it claimed. 

The paper said the data indicates that "there is a conducive environment to foster diversity in the society," adding that it is not possible to promote better life outcomes for the disadvantaged sections of society without providing a nurturing environment and societal support through a bottom-up approach