Will never allow reservation based on religion, says Modi at Telangana rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public meeting for Lok Sabha elections in Zaheerabad in Telangana on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that he would not allow religion-based reservations to be given to Muslims at the cost of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

“As long as Modi is alive, he will not let the rights of the SCs, STs and OBCs be given away to the Muslims in the name of reservations. We shall never allow religion-based reservations, as was resolved by the members of the Constituent Assembly while drafting the Constitution before 1950,” he said in a rally at Alladurg village of Zaheerabad parliamentary constituency in Medak district.

Modi recalled that there had been a long-standing demand from around 36 communities including Marathas and Lingayats in Telangana to be included in the OBC list. “But the Congress which came to power both in the Centre and in the state of combined Andhra Pradesh between 2004 and 2009 granted reservations to the Muslims overnight by snatching away the rights of OBCs,” he alleged.

The PM accused the Congress of indulging in vote-bank politics, alleging that the party did not care about other faiths. “In Hyderabad, even the Ram Navami procession is being banned so that the vote bank does not get upset,” he said.

Modi lashed out at the Congress for spreading false information about the possible changes in the Constitution of India by the BJP, if it was voted to power for a third term. He recalled that it was the “royal family” of the Congress which had played with the Constitution several times.

“It the great grandfather of the present Prince, the first Prime Minister of India, who had sabotaged the Constitution by getting the pictures of great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata from the pages of the Constitution of India erased. These pictures were inscribed on the pages of the Constitution to see that the rulers followed the noble path shown by the characters in these epics,” he said, adding it was the first Prime Minister who had made the first Constitutional amendment to curtail free speech.

Then, Modi recalled, it was the grandmother of the “shehzada” (prince) who had destroyed the spirit of the Constitution by imposing Emergency in the country and thrown lakhs of people behind the bars to safeguard her power.

“It was the father of the Prince, who made an attempt to curtail press freedom, but had backtracked after massive protests from various sections of people including the BJP workers. And this Prince had mocked the Constitution by tearing away the bill passed by the Parliament in the presence of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” he pointed out.

Modi said the royal family of the Congress would make a hue and cry whenever it was out of power. “They stall the functioning of the Parliament, question the autonomy of Election Commission and doubt the functioning of electronic voting machines. Now, they are distorting the speeches of the BJP leaders to protect their vote bank,” he alleged, referring to the alleged fake video posted on social media platforms to mislead people and create tension in the society.

The Prime Minister asserted that he was going to come to power at the Centre for a third time. “We shall celebrate the 75 years of the Constitution of India on a grand scale in every nook and corner of the country and expose the motives of the Congress to every citizen of the country,” he said.

Modi said whenever the Congress was in power, it had five political symbols– first, false promises; second, vote bank politics, third, supporting mafia and criminals, fourth dynastic politics; and fifth, corruption.

Alleging that the Congress would impose 55 per cent inheritance tax if voted to power, Modi said when the whole world was economically progressing, India was suffering from policy paralysis under the previous UPA government. “The NDA has brought India out of that phase with great difficulty, but Congress again wants to take the country back to the old bad days,” Modi said.

Modi warned that if Congress comes to power, it will bring inheritance tax. The Congress is planning to collect 55 per cent as tax on inheritance (received from parents). “While Tollywood has given a superhit movie like RRR, there is a talk now about “RR tax,” (implying Revanth Reddy tax), which is being paid by the Congress to its bosses in Delhi. If it is not controlled, it will destroy the entire Telangana beyond repair,” he said.

Stating that there was no difference between the Congress and the BRS, Modi said both were part of the same corruption racket. “They are hand in glove with each other and are protecting each other. The Congress has joined the alliance with the party (AAP) which is involved in the Delhi liquor scam, in which the BRS leader is a key player. Now these parties have come together in support of one other,” he pointed out.

He questioned why Congress, which had promised to investigate the corruption of BRS in the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS), has kept the investigation files under wrap. Similarly, he said that the BRS didn’t let the “cash for vote” case investigation progress.

The Telangana Congress took serious exception to Modi’s comments on Muslim reservations and his attack on the Nehru family with regard to the Constitution of India.

Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president and spokesman G Niranjan said Modi’s comments at the Zaheerabad rally were in clear violation of the model code of conduct and he had written to the Chief Election Commissioner seeking appropriate action.

“Modi attacked on the Congress and its leaders right from Jawarhal Lal Nehru to Rahul Gandhi without any basis. He also tried to provoke the people in the name of community and castes, by speaking against Muslim reservations,” Niranjan said.

He said Modi’s speech was full of hatred and intended to create communal and caste differences among the people. “We requested the EC to seek a detailed report from the local election officers and take action against Modi to prevent anarchy in the country,” the Congress leader said.

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