No reservations based on religion to Muslims as long as I am alive, says PM Modi

• Image Credit: Google

• May 1, 2024 | Guriya Khatun

Targetting Congress, he charged that the grand old party had harbored "hatred" for the Constitution since it formed and had turned undivided Andhra Pradesh into a "laboratory of appeasement" by granting Muslims reservation in BCs.

Digital Desk: Amid Congress's attack that the BJP would change the Constitution and scrap reservations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that he would not let the quotas of Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs be given to Muslims based on religion. 

Targeting Congress, he charged that the grand old party had harbored "hatred" for the Constitution since it formed and had turned undivided Andhra Pradesh into a "laboratory of appeasement" by granting Muslims reservation in BCs.

He stated, "As long as Modi is alive, I will not let reservations of Dalits, Adivasis, and OBC to be given to Muslims based on religion," while speaking at an election rally in the Telangana constituency of Zaheerabad Lok Sabha. He said that after the Congress won a record number of MPs and MLAs in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2004 and 2009, it granted Muslims the BC reservation. 

Although Telangana's 26 castes had been applying for OBC designation for a while, he said that the Congress had rejected their application and had instead designated Muslims as OBC "overnight." 

He claimed that when the Congress erased images of Ramayan and Mahabharat from the B R Ambedkar-signed Constitution, it had begun demeaning the document "day one."

The Prime Minister remarked, subtly alluding to Rahul Gandhi, that the “grandmother of shehzada”—former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi—had destroyed the Constitution, declared a state of emergency, and imprisoned thousands of citizens. 

He claimed that the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had insulted the Constitution, and the second big insult was from “his grandmother” (Indira Gandhi), he alleged. 

The BJP and the media resisted the law that the father of "shehzada," a reference to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, brought to scare the nation's newspapers, and the effort had to be stopped, he claimed.

Recalling that in a 2013 press conference, "shehzada" (Rahul Gandhi) tore off copies of an ordinance released by the then-UPA government, he asked how the former could claim to be defending the Constitution.

He claimed that the Manmohan Singh government's ordinance was a choice made by the cabinet at the time, which was chosen by the Constitution. 

He said that the Constituent Assembly had resolved that quotas were intended for Dalits, Adivasis, and Other Backward Classes and that there would be no religious reservations in the nation. 

He claimed that efforts are being made to "dishonestly" supply quotas through the backdoor on the basis of religion in order to bolster the vote bank, seemingly directed at Rahul Gandhi.

He recounted that in 2014, upon taking office, he had bowed when he entered Parliament, describing the Constitution as a "dharm grandh" (spiritual document) that guided him in running the government. 

Sitaram Kesri, the Congress president at the time, said that the "royal family" of Congress was in charge of the party and that he had been "thrown on the footpath" and "locked in a bathroom" because they were unwilling to recognize even the party's constitution. 

Nehru, the first prime minister, amended the Constitution for the first time.

"The Constitution does not worry them. When the royal family is in charge, everything is well. But when they lose power, everything is useless," he added. 

During his third term in government, Modi declared that he would take the "sins" of Congress to every street in the nation and celebrate the 75 years of the Constitution in style. 

Modi said in a subdued jab at Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy that funds obtained in the region through "double R (RR) tax" were being sent to Delhi. 

He said this in reference to the hugely successful Telugu movie "RRR," which won praise from all around the world.

In an attack on the Congress party over the fictitious video case, he said that the party had begun a campaign of disinformation and inciting discord in the community. 

Revanth Reddy was called by the Delhi Police to participate in their investigation on May 1 in relation to the social media distribution of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's "doctored" video. 

Claiming that if elected to power, the Congress will levy a 55% inheritance tax, Modi claimed that while the rest of the world was experiencing economic growth, India was experiencing policy gridlock under the previous UPA administration. 

Congress will implement an inheritance tax if they win control of the House. Congress intends to tax inheritances (obtained from parents) at a rate greater than half, or 55%, he stated.

In a jab at the Congress, he claimed that the grand old party always had five political symbols: fraud, vote-bank politics, backing for the mafia and other criminals, dynastic politics, and corruption. 

Modi also claimed that Congress was stealing Telangana after BRS did it first. 

In his campaign speeches for the Lok Sabha elections, Revanth Reddy has stated time and time again that the BJP would amend the Constitution and abolish reservations.