Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party for its Lok Sabha election manifesto, accusing it of being influenced by the Muslim League and dishonouring the father of the Indian Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, through its pursuit of religion-based reservation policies.
In an exclusive interview, PM Modi expressed concern over the Congress party’s alleged efforts to implement reservation based on religion, which he argued could jeopardize the current reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). He cautioned that Congress might divert reservations meant for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and stressed the importance of informing the public about these issues.
The Congress party released its Lok Sabha election manifesto, “Nyay Patra,” on April 5. The manifesto includes promises to grant minorities greater freedom in areas such as dress, food, language, and personal laws. It also proposes to amend the Constitution to raise the 50% reservation cap for SCs, STs, and OBCs.
PM Modi continued to criticize the Congress party, alleging it placed Muslims in the OBC category for vote-bank politics. He mentioned Congress’s 2004 decision to grant OBC reservations to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh, which resulted in legal disputes.
The Prime Minister also highlighted Congress’s attempt in 2011 to allocate the OBC share to Muslims in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. He underscored the legal challenges faced by the Congress party and emphasized the need to uphold the principle that reservations should not be based on religion.
