INDIA Bloc on Thursday accused the union government of trying to create communal divide over a report that claimed there has been a decrease in the share of the Hindu population between 1950 and 2015. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and CPI General Secretary D Raja slammed Modi government for not conducting the census, and called the working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) as an attempt to get votes by creating a communal divide.

Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh used the report to target the Congress, and said there has been a decrease in the Hindu population due to its politics of appeasement. When RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was asked about the report he accused BJP of spreading hatred.

The census that was supposed to take place in 2020-21 has not been carried out till now. Yadav said the aim of the BJP government is trying to mislead the people of the country, and are spreading communal hatred. Yadav further pointed out that this is the only agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP government at the centre. He accused the Modi government of fooling people of the country for the past 10 years, and they want to do that again.

Raja questioned the timing of the report and asked why has the prime minister’s economic advisory council come out with this report at a time when the country is undergoing Lok Sabha elections?  He said PM Modi is already trying to polarise people in the name of Muslims and is talking about handing over keys of the Ram Temple to Muslims. He asked why is PM Modi taking up all these issues? Raja further added that this means there is an attempt to polarise people by bringing out such data and said the people should be cautious of such reports.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday was addressing an election rally in Telangana’s Bhongir where he claimed that if the BJP came to power in the state then it will increase the reservation of SC, ST, OBC and will end the Muslim reservation.

While appealing to the public to vote for BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Amit Shah said Congress wants to fight elections by telling lies. He pointed out that Congress has said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes then he will end reservation. Shah said PM Modi has been leading India unanimously for the last 10 years, but he did not finish reservation. But the Congress party has robbed the reservations of SC, ST, OBC by giving 4% reservation to Muslims.

He added further in 2019, the public of Telangana gave the BJP 4 seats. The Union Home Minister promised that the BJP will get more than 10 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. This double digit score in Telangana makes PM Modi cross 400 seats. He appealed to the people of Telangana to make BJP victorious in more than 10 seats. And they will end Muslim reservation in the state of Telangana and increase the reservation of SC, ST, and OBC’s.

Shah took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said in BJP’s election manifesto the party has given Modi guarantees and he does what he says. And the guarantees of Rahul baba does not even stay till sunset. The Union Home Minister slammed Rahul Gandhi for making promises and not fulfilling them. He said Rahul Gandhi promised to forgive the farmer loans but did not, he promised to give Rs 15000 to farmers but he did not fulfill his promise. Amit Shah further said Rahul Gandhi promised to give loans of Rs 5 lakh to students without guarantee but did not.

JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday reiterated that would stand in support of his brother HD Revanna, who has been arrested on charges of kidnapping but he insisted that Prajwal Revanna will have to face the full might of the law. HD Revanna the first member of the Deve Gowda family to be arrested and lodged in jail in a criminal case, was in tears as he stepped out of the courtroom.

The former chief minister reacted to deputy chief minister DK Shivkumar and said he is the king of blackmailers. He said the Congress state president is trying to exploit the situation for personal gain. He accused the chief minister Siddaramaiah and home minister G Parameswara of neglecting their duty and said they were trying to safeguard the survivors of the sex scandal allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna.

Kumaraswamy said instead of getting justice for women, the Congress government is protecting miscreants who distributed the pen drives. The controversy surrounding the alleged sex video case which involved Janata Dal (Secular) leaders Prajwal Revanna and his father HD Revanna escalated after the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government ruled out a CBI investigation into the sex scandal.

Earlier JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had expressed doubts over how the investigation was being carried out and demanded that the case, which is currently being investigated by the state government-constituted SIT should be handed over to the CBI.

HD Revanna had been arrested earlier over a kidnapping allegation in the sex scandal case and was sent to judicial custody till May 14. His bail petition before a sessions court has been posted for Thursday. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said 3 arrests have been made in this case so far which includes JD(S) MLA HD Revanna and his aide Satish Babanna. But, the minister declined to reveal the name of the 3rd accused as it would affect the ongoing investigation.