PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit out at the Congress, saying the “vote bank-hungry” party wanted to implement reservation on the basis of religion. Addressing a poll rally in Ambikapur, the headquarters of Surguja district in Chhattisgarh, he also alleged that the Congress wanted to impose inheritance tax in the country and snatch the assets and rights of people and their children. Some forces want a “weak” Government of the Congress and “I.N.D.I.” alliance to be in power in the country as they thought that if India becomes ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant), their shops will be shut, he said. “Today, when I have come to Surguja, I want to present the Muslim League thinking of the Congress in front of the country. When their manifesto was released, on the same day I had said, and saying today also that the Congress manifesto has the imprint of Muslim League,” Modi said.

 

When the Constitution was being drafted, intellectuals and great personalities under the leadership of Babasaheb Ambedkar decided that there would be no reservation on the basis of religion in India, he said. “If there is reservation, then it will be for my Dalit brothers and sisters and tribal brothers and sisters,” he said. “But the vote bank-hungry Congress never cared about the words of the great personalities, sanctity of the Constitution and the words of Babasaheb Ambedkar. Years ago, the Congress made an attempt to implement reservation on the basis of religion in Andhra Pradesh. Then Congress has planned to implement it in the entire country,” Modi said. They talked about implementing 15 per cent reservation on the basis of religion and said it will be done after curtailing the quota of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, he added. “Congress expressed the same intention in its 2009 manifesto, and in the 2014 manifesto, it had clearly said that it will never leave this issue. If reservation for Dalits and tribals has to be curtailed, they will do so,” the PM said.

 

“Earlier, Congress had also implemented reservation on the basis of religion in Karnataka. When the BJP Government came there, we quashed the decision taken by the Congress against the Constitution and against the spirit of Babasaheb Ambedkar.,” he said. But the Congress Government in Karnataka committed another sin by including all the castes of the Muslim community into the OBC category. A big portion of benefits the OBC community used to get was cut off, Modi said. “The Congress’s eyes are not only on your reservation, but also on your earnings, your houses, shops and farms. The ‘shehzada’ of Congress (apparently referring to Rahul Gandhi) says they will conduct an X-ray of the property of every house and every family in the country. The Congress will snatch all these things from you and they say that they will equally distribute them,” he said.