Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], June 20 (ANI): Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party for criticising the Karnataka Government's decision to raise minority reservations in housing schemes from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, Congress leader Sukhdeo Bhagat said that he had heard about hydrophobia, but BJP has a 'phobia' of 'Gandhi' and 'Nehru'.

Deo alleged that the BJP was giving a 'Hindu-Muslim' angle to every scheme and stated that the party should exclude 'Muslims' from their 'Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas' slogan.

BJP MP Sambit Patra on Friday tore apart the Congress-led Karnataka government over its decision to increase reservation in housing development schemes for minorities from 10 to 15 per cent. He termed it a 'perfect' example of how people keep the Constitution in their 'pockets' after 'tearing it into pieces.'

Sambit Patra said the Constitution for the Congress party and the Gandhi family are secondary to appeasement.

'The Karnataka Cabinet passing the Muslim reservation in housing schemes yesterday is a perfect example of how the people who keep the Constitution in their pockets are tearing the Constitution to pieces... For the Congress Party and the Gandhi family, the Constitution is secondary to religious appeasement', Sambit Patra told reporters on Friday.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar rebuffed BJP leader Amit Malviya's criticism of the state government's decision to raise minority reservations in housing schemes from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, accusing the BJP of fostering division.

Malviya had criticised the Congress government, alleging the hike was a move to 'appease its vote bank' at the expense of other communities, calling it 'blatantly illegal and unconstitutional.'Shivakumar accused the BJP of promoting divisive politics and said the government's decision was based on recommendations like the Sachar Committee Report and aimed at correcting implementation lapses in minority housing quotas.

Addressing the media, Shivakumar said, 'I am least bothered about any other BJP leader's comments or anything. They create hatred and they will try to divide society. We always try to unite society. There is a Sachar Committee Report which states that 15 per cent of the reservation should be given on welfare schemes to minorities. In various schemes, we had given 10 per cent of houses' reservation to them but in rural parts of Karnataka, there are no minorities. All minorities are in urban section - some were 25 per cent, some others 30 per cent, somewhere else 12 per cent. So, there were a lot of lapses. That is why, my Minister proposed it.'

The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved an increase in the reservation quota for minority communities under various housing schemes from 10 per cent to 15 per cent. (ANI)