“Both the Congress and the Samajwadi Party have promised reservation for religious minorities in their election manifestos. We would like to know how are they going to do that when the Supreme Court has made it clear that reservation cannot exceed 50 per cent.”

He said the parties should explain whether they are thinking of cutting into the quotas meant for the SCs and the OBCs.

Moreover, the BSP which claims to be a champion of Dalits, is maintaining an intriguing silence.

All these parties appear to be “hand-in-glove”, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said.

He said reservations based on religious identity were “at variance with the stand taken by stalwarts like Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad and Shyama Prasad Mookerjee when the issue had come up for discussion before the Constituent Assembly”.

“Moreover, these parties are talking of reservations not because of any genuine concern about Muslims, but due to the fact that they view the community as a mere vote bank,” he added.

Gadkari said, “The tacit understanding between these parties is not confined just to vote bank politics. They keep helping each other whenever they are under attack for corruption.”

The SP and the BSP helped the UPA government when a no-confidence motion was brought in Parliament over the burning issue of price rise.

They again supported the Congress-led coalition in its defense against the damning report of the Public Accounts Committee on the 2G scam.