PM attacks Muslims over quota

JAIPUR: Unfazed by the storm caused by his speech against the Muslim community to attack the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged on Tuesday that the Congress tried to extend reservation on the basis of religion and give it to Muslims, and accused the party again of hatching a “deep conspiracy” to snatch people’s wealth and distribute it among a “select” group.

Though many said the BJP was allegedly misquoting the then prime minister Manmohan Singh to allege that he had said Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources, Modi repeated the allegation at an election rally in Rajasthan’s Tonk.

“This was not a coincidence. This is not a single statement. The Congress ideology has always been of appeasement and vote bank politics.

“As soon as the Congress formed the government at the Centre in 2004, one of the first things it did was to reduce the SC/ST reservation in Andhra Pradesh and give it to Muslims. This was a pilot project which the Congress wanted to try in the entire country,” he charged.

“Between 2004 and 2010, the Congress tried to implement Muslim reservation in Andhra Pradesh four times but due to legal hurdles and the awareness of the Supreme Court, it could not fulfil its intention,” he claimed. “In 2011, the Congress tried to implement it throughout the country. They played the game of snatching away the rights provided to the SC, ST and OBC and giving them to others for vote bank politics,” he said, and dared the Congress to “declare” openly that if it comes to power it would provide reservation to Muslims out of the quota for Dalits and tribal community.

When the BJP government in Karnataka got an opportunity, it abolished the Muslim quota created by the Congress government out of the reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, he added.

Referring to his Sunday rally speech that triggered the controversy, Modi said the Congress and the opposition INDIA bloc were peeved after he “exposed” their vote bank and appeasement politics. “I have put forth the truth before the country that the Congress is hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch your wealth and distribute it among select people,” he said.