Calcutta High Court order on OBC quota to Muslims ‘tight slap’ to opposition: Modi

PTI

New Delhi, May 22

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called the Calcutta High Court decision of striking down the OBC status granted to "77 classes" in West Bengal since 2010 a "tight slap" to the opposition and alleged that the INDIA bloc's "obsession with appeasement" has crossed every limit.

The Calcutta High Court, in its verdict on Wednesday, noted that "religion indeed appears to have been the sole criterion" for declaring these classes as OBCs.

Stating that the court's mind is not free from doubt that "the said community (Muslims) has been treated as a commodity for political ends," the bench added, "This is clear from the chain of events that led to the classification of the 77 classes as OBCs and their inclusion to be treated as a vote bank."

Addressing an election meeting in Dwarka here, Modi said every time he utters the word 'Muslim', he is accused of making communal statements and asserted that he is only "exposing" the opposition "by stating facts".

“Just today, the Calcutta High Court has given a big slap to this INDI alliance. The court has cancelled all OBC certificates issued since 2010. Why? Because the West Bengal government issued unwarranted OBC certificates to Muslims just because of the vote bank.

"They have crossed every limit in their obsession with appeasement,” he said.

"These people say that Muslims have the first right to the country's resources. These people are giving government land to the Waqf Board and asking for votes. These people want to reserve 15 per cent budget for minorities. They want to give bank loans, government tenders and even entry into sports on the basis of religion. This is the height of vote bank politics," he charged.

Modi and other BJP leaders have repeatedly alleged during the election campaign that the Congress and its allies want to give the OBC quota to Muslims.

He alleged that the opposition was against the CAA but was supporting infiltrators for its vote bank.

"The Khan market gang has only one way -- every time Modi uses the word 'Muslim', they accuse him of saying communal things. I am only exposing them with facts. They are doing vote jihad," he claimed.

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#INDIA bloc #Narendra Modi #West Bengal