The BJP is likely to hand out around 1,200 tickets to people from the Pasmanda Muslim community in the upcoming municipal elections in Uttar Pradesh, according to a report by India Today.
Pasmanda is a Persian word that means 'the ones left behind'. It is used to refer to the backward community within the Muslim population. Pasmandas constitute 85 per cent of the total population in Uttar Pradesh. However, they have a poor representation in society.
They further have 41 castes under them including Qureshi, Salmani, Shah, Siddiqui etc.
On Tuesday, BJP organised an event in Uttar Pradesh to facilitate the Muslim community. The move comes in the run-up to the state municipal polls, likely to be held in December, and ahead of the 2024 general elections. The saffron party has said that more conferences will be held across different places in the state as an effort to bring this large sector of Muslims into their folds.
Accusing the rival parties of isolating the backward classes of the Muslim community, UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that his party will "serve" the Pasmanda Muslims by becoming their watchman.
"You strengthened the Samajwadi Party, sometimes the BSP, and sometimes the Congress by voting for them. They reached high levels of politics with your cooperation. You should think about what these parties did for you," Maurya said.
Further, Maurya told the member of the Pasmanda Muslim community, "You have trusted them, just trust the BJP for once. The mainstream of the country's politics is the BJP only. Those who have only used Pasmanda Muslims till now should be taught a lesson."
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has been pushing the Centre to decide whether reservation benefits enjoyed by Scheduled Castes can be extended to Dalit members of Christianity and Islam.
As of now, only Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs can avail the status of the scheduled caste under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.
However, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, AS Oka and Vikram Nath said that the “day has come when we have to take a call on this.”
