Agra : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Congress party of conspiring to take away the rights of OBCs, SCs, and STs in secret. Speaking at an election rally in Agra PM Modi said that the Karnataka Congress government secretly robbed the rights of the OBCs and they want to do the same thing with OBCs, SCs, and STs everywhere they get into power.
"The Congress government in Karnataka has overnight turned all the Muslim castes in Karnataka into OBCs by stamping a paper and told them to become the owners of this 27 per cent and loot it. They have robbed the rights of the OBCs. The Congress intends to play the same game in UP, to perform the same feat, wherever they get a chance in the country, they want to secretly rob the rights of the OBCs, SCs, and STs from the back door and give it away. And in this, the Samajwadi Party is also fully supporting them," the PM said at a rally in Agra.
The PM also accused Congress of advocating religion-based reservations despite court restrictions.
"The same Congress has repeatedly advocated for reservations based on religion in their manifestos, whether in Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh. The Constitution and the courts of the country have repeatedly forbidden Congress from doing so, rejecting every argument they have made... Congress has now resolved to bring reservations based on religion, and for this, they have found a way to steal from the 27 per cent quota for OBCs, to quietly snatch away and give reservations based on religion," he said.
The Prime Minister said that appeasement politics have divided the nation into pieces. "In our country, we have seen a lot of politics of appeasement, which has divided the nation into pieces. The politics of appeasement have drowned out the honest and truthful. Our path is not one of appeasement; it is one of satisfaction," he said.
The PM also accused the Samajwadi Party and Congress's INDI alliance of appeasement politics. "The Samajwadi Party and Congress's INDI alliance are deeply involved in appeasement politics. The manifesto released by Congress for the 2024 elections is completely stamped with the Muslim League's approval. The entire Congress manifesto is dedicated only to strengthening their vote bank. Our manifesto is dedicated to strengthening the nation," he said.
PM Modi launched an attack on the Congress party, saying, "Since independence, it has been clear that India will never provide reservations based on religion; this was decided after discussions in the Constituent Assembly, which were led by Babasaheb Ambedkar. It was Ambedkar's wish, and the fundamental spirit of the Constitution and social justice dictate that the Constitution of India does not agree to reservations based on religion. However, Congress is such a party that insults Ambedkar every day, disrespects the Constitution, and shreds the very fabric of social justice."
In Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 general elections, the BJP emerged triumphant, securing 62 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, supplemented by two seats clinched by its ally Apna Dal (S). Mayawati's BSP managed to secure 10 seats, while Akhilesh Yadav's SP garnered five. The Congress Party secured only one seat. Uttar Pradesh sends the maximum number of MPs, 80 in total, to Parliament. The first phase of voting in the state has already taken place on April 19.
The remaining Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will cast their votes in the subsequent phases of the election, namely, Phase 2 on April 26, Phase 3 on May 7, Phase 4 on May 13, Phase 5 on May 20, Phase 6 on May 25, and Phase 7 on June 1. The counting of votes will occur on June 4 .