Guwahati, April 30: Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that the Congress, during its tenure, had attempted to compromise reservations for SC, ST and OBC communities.
Addressing a media conference at the state BJP office here ahead of the third phase elections, Shah said, “BJP supports reservations for SC, ST and OBC communities and will continue to protect them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated this stance in many public speeches. If any political party has attempted to compromise reservations for SC, ST and OBC communities, it is the Congress party.”
The home minister stated that Congress first introduced reservations for Muslims in the united Andhra Pradesh region, which led to a reduction in OBC reservations. “Subsequently, in Karnataka, they placed all Muslims in the OBC category without proper surveys or assessments of backwardness and reserved a four percent quota for them, again diminishing reservations for backward classes.”
“But BJP believes that reservations based on religion are not constitutional and are against the principles of the Constitution. When we take power in these states, we will eliminate reservations based on religion and work to ensure justice for SC, ST and OBC communities,” he claimed.
Shah further said that BJP’s internal assessment has indicated that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has “secured far more than 100 seats” in the two phases of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections held so far.
“According to the BJP’s internal assessment, in the two phases of the election completed so far, BJP and NDA have significantly secured far more than 100 seats,” Shah said.
“With the blessings and support of the people, BJP is moving forward towards the goal of ‘400 Paar’. In Assam, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, BJP appears to be achieving significant electoral success,” Shah said.
“The initial trends show that BJP is receiving a very good response in southern India as well,” the home minister, who had taken part in a roadshow here on Monday evening, said.
Shah refuted the narrative put forward by Congress and other Opposition parties that BJP’s goal of surpassing 400 seats was to change the Constitution and end reservations.
He strongly criticised Congress for attempting to mislead the public through fake videos, alleging that the Opposition party was spreading falsehood to incite unrest among the people.
The fake video spread by the Congress and the actual speech video of Shah was also presented to the journalists.
“Congress has been trying to twist the goal of ‘400 Paar’. They have tried to portray the goal as a means to change the Constitution, while also spreading false claims that BJP will abolish reservations after surpassing 400 seats,” he said.
“Both of these claims are baseless and unsubstantiated. The people of the country have given BJP a clear majority in both 2014 and 2019 elections. The party has been running a government with a clear majority for 10 years,” he added.
“Unlike Congress, we have not used our majority to impose an emergency and strangle democracy, extend the term of the Lok Sabha, or amend the Constitution. Instead, we have used our majority to end Article 370 and triple talaq. We have also used it to combat COVID-19, to replace colonial laws with laws rooted in Indian culture and tradition,” Shah said.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Shah stated that since the Congress leader took charge of the party, politics has descended to its lowest level.
The Union home minister also predicted that the BJP-led alliance should bag at least 12 Lok Sabha seats in Assam.