PM Modi opens new front against Congress, says it wants reservation based on religion

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, April 23

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sharpened his anti-Congress pitch accusing the principal opposition party of violating the Constitution by pushing for religion-based reservation to benefit a “favoured community” when it was in power.

Editorial: Exercise restraint

Opening a new front and promising to defend the constitutional provisions for reservation to SCs/STs and OBCs at a rally in Rajasthan’s Tonk Sawai Madhopur on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said his “90-second reference revealing the truth had rattled the opposition party”.

Cong tried to cut SC/ST & OBC quota

After forming the government at the Centre in 2004, the initial Congress move was to decrease the quota for SCs/STs in party-ruled Andhra Pradesh and introduce religion-based reservation for a favoured community. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

“I unveiled some truths in Rajasthan recently. Why is the Congress so afraid of the truth? I have only exposed its dangerous intentions of seizing people’s property and redistributing it among favoured individuals....

“In its manifesto, the Congress boldly states its intention to conduct surveys of people’s property, going far enough to suggest assessment of the sacred ‘Mangalsutra’ worn by women. One of their leaders floated the absurd idea of conducting X-ray scans to uncover the stashed away wealth of people. They even threatened to grab excess assets...,” the PM said, repeating his “Congress will redistribute people’s wealth” charge.

In fresh jabs at the BJP’s direct rival in Rajasthan, Modi recalled the erstwhile Congress-led UPA regime’s attempts to bring religion-based reservation: “It is Modi’s guarantee from a public platform today that reservation for Dalit, Backward and tribals will neither end nor be truncated in the name of religion.”

The PM urged voters to ask the Congress why it attempted to carve out religion-based reservation from constitutionally mandated SC/ST/OBC pie in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka when it was in power.

“After forming the government at the Centre in 2004, the initial move of the Congress was to decrease the quota for SCs/STs in party ruled Andhra Pradesh and introduce religion-based reservation for a favoured community (read Muslims). This was a pilot intended for a national scale-up. The Congress attempted this reservation in Andhra Pradesh on four occasions but due to legal challenges and a vigilant Supreme Court, it did not materialise,” said the PM.

He also brought up a 2011 move of the UPA government to attempt a “religion-based quota policy nationwide”, and said the Congress, by reallocating reservation meant for SCs/STs and OBCs, tried redistributing quota benefits to other groups in line with its vote bank politics. “This is ‘Modi ki guarantee’ that reservations for Dalit, Backward Classes and tribals will neither be eliminated nor divided on religious grounds,” Modi said.

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