Stay united or Cong will snatch your quota: PM Modi reaches out to OBCs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed election rallies in Maharashtra and said unless the marginalised were united, the Congress would take away their quotas.
“If you are not united, Congress will take away your reservations. The Congress royal family has always believed they were born to rule, which is why they never let Dalits, backward classes and tribals progress,” Modi said during his poll meetings in Chimur, Solapur and Pune.
He said reservations empower these communities, and “that’s why Congress despises them”. In the 1980s, the Congress even questioned these rights, the PM said.
He added: “Today, Congress still speaks the language of the powerful, vowing to end reservations for Dalits, backward classes and tribals. Stay alert against Congress and its allies.”
He said while the Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, Shiv Sena UBT and NCP (SP) had “done a PhD” in disrupting development, the BJP-led Mahayuti (consisting also of Shiv Sena and NCP) had done a PhD in development.
“This election in Maharashtra is a choice between Mahayuti’s proven track record of development and MVA’s same old tape record of lies,” Modi said. The PM alleged that the Congress had for years been undermining the rights and welfare of the SC/ST communities, using them as political tools.
“Congress and its allies are plotting to weaken the 10% tribal population by dividing them into castes. Here in Chimur-Chandrapur, they want to sow division among communities like the Gonds, Arakh, Paradhan, Pahari, Soroti, Halba, Halbi, Kolam, and Mannervarlu. If the tribal society is divided, its strength will fade. Congress’s Shehzada himself admitted this abroad. That’s why I say, we must not fall victim to Congress’s conspiracy. We must stay united: Ek Hain Toh Safe Hain,” Modi repeated his “unity slogan”.
He also accused the Congress of backing violence and separatism, stating: “Congress and its allies fuel violence for politics. Recently, we saw the chaos in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Kashmir burned in separatism and terrorism for decades, thanks to Article 370, a Congress legacy. We abolished it, fully integrating Kashmir with India. Now, Congress and its allies are pushing to reinstate it, doing Pakistan’s bidding.” Maharashtra will vote on November 20.
