Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday vowed to staunchly defend reservation rights for ST, SC and OBC categories against any attempt by the Indian Union party to “snatch it away” and give it to Muslims.
“I will not allow this game to be played on the grounds of religion. Modi is the guardian of the rights of the underprivileged (‘Banchit kar jo adhikar hai, Modi uskar chowkidar hai’),” the prime minister said at an election rally in Ghazipur.
Modi was highly critical of Hindu bloc political parties, accusing them of being “highly sectarian, casteist and hereditary”.
“They have always blocked the progress of Dalits and backward sections of the country. Who insulted Babasaheb (BR Ambedkar)? Who hatched a conspiracy to defeat him in the elections? It was the Congress Party. Who did not allow Babasaheb to achieve a united India? It was the Congress Party,” he said.
Modi said opposition parties had insulted former President Ram Nath Kovind, the “son of Dalits”, and had colluded against tribal constituency Draupadi Murmu in the presidential elections.
“INDI alliance is united to plunder reservation rights for SC, ST and OBC. But PM Modi stands firmly before them… And I assure you that as long as PM Modi is alive, he will not let them snatch away reservation rights for SC, ST and OBC,” PM Modi said.
He noted that in Karnataka, Muslims were included in the backward classes under the Indian National Congress, and that the Calcutta High Court had issued orders cancelling OBC certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010.
“Their big conspiracy has come to light in Bengal. Two days ago, the Calcutta High Court opened the curtains. What game was being played there? Almost all OBC reservations in Bengal were being given to Muslims,” he alleged.
Modi also criticised the Indian National Congress for delaying the implementation of a “rank-unified pension” for veterans and the Samajwadi Party for a reign of terror run by the mafia controlled by the Congress.
In the Ghazipur Assembly constituency, the main contest is between Afzal Ansari of the Samajwadi Party and Paras Nath Rai of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Afzal Ansari is the brother of the gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who died on March 28.
Voting for the seats will be held in the seventh phase on June 1.
Criticising Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, PM Modi said, “The SP’s ‘Shahzad’ (prince) once said he would stop the entry of the mafia. Then he sat at the feet of the mafia. The SP nurtured the mafia and gave them nod (for elections).”
“A person who cannot stand his ground can never fight for you,” PM Modi said.
“During the SP government (in Uttar Pradesh), mafia members roamed the streets with red beacons (on their cars) and dissenters were shot dead in public. Riots were a regular feature in Uttar Pradesh. Two to three riots took place every month during the SP government,” he alleged.
“It is the poor who have suffered because of this. Now, under Yogi (Adityanath)’s government, the violence has stopped and the rioters have been jailed,” he said, adding that India had crossed all limits with its appeasement policy.
“These people are insulting the Rama temple. SP leaders are saying that the Rama temple is ‘bekar’ (useless)…The Congress’ ‘shahzad’ (prince) is trying to put locks on the Rama temple,” he alleged.
“Not only that, the INDI coalition has announced the restoration of Article 370 in Kashmir. This means that the Congress is once again plunging Kashmir into the fire of terror, once again boosting Pakistan’s morale and once again making our soldiers shed blood,” PM Modi alleged.
Referring to Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, PM Modi said, “Today, everyone in Ghazipur is proud that a son of Ghazipur is taking charge of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“The people of Kashmir are also seeing how development is taking place. Now even the people of Kashmir have come to know the name Ghazipur,” the Prime Minister said. PM Modi said his government’s welfare schemes have transformed the lives of the poor.
“In just 10 years, 250 million people have been lifted out of poverty. This is because your votes have made PM Modi stronger. We have provided prime ministerial houses to 40 million families. We have opened bank accounts for 50 crore poor people. We have provided electricity to every village. We are providing water to every household. Today, the poor have an Ayushman card and they do not need to sell their land for treatment,” PM Modi said.
Published May 25, 2024 21:11 IST
