Congress Planned Religious Census In Armed Forces: Minister's Big Charge

In a scathing attack on the Congress over its 'appeasement' politics, Rajnath Singh said the grand old party was trying to introduce a 'religion-based reservation' through the back door.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said previous Congress governments at the Centre tried to create a division in the country's armed forces by recommending a 'religious census'. This comes amid the furore around wealth redistribution, an idea Rahul Gandhi allegedly said would be followed up on and implemented if his party was voted to power.

Addressing an election campaign at Vishakhapatnam on Wednesday, the Union Defence Minister said, "The Sachar Committee, which was formed by the Congress government, recommended a religion-based census in the armed forces in 2006. The Congress, in its manifesto (for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections), has also hinted at a reservation for religious minorities if they are elected. If they introduce reservations for religious minorities and extend the idea to the armed forces, it wouldn't bode well for the country's unity and integrity of the country."

"What worries me more is that whatever the Congress has put in its manifesto in the name of minority welfare has echoes of the ideas and recommendations in the Sachar Committee report," the Union Defence Minister said.