Congress fighting for reservation, Constitution: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge
May 15, 2024
Raebareli (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 15 : Hitting back over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegation that the Congress wants to reduce the reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs and give it to its "vote bank", Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said the Congress has been fighting to protect quotas for these weaker sections.
Kharge said that BJP leaders should ask for votes from people over the work done in the past five years and not seek to mislead them.
Asked about PM Modi's remarks targeting Congress on reservation, Kharge accused him of speaking lies and said the BJP has "no moral right" to talk about the issue.
"We have been fighting for reservation and to save the Constitution...You have no right to talk about reservation," Kharge told ANI.
He alleged that all seats reserved for weaker sections had not been filled by the government.
He said the BJP had promised to provide two crore jobs to people and alleged that the party has "failed in everything".
"You promised to provide 2 crore jobs but you could not do that well. At least 1 crore jobs every year could have been provided to the youth. You failed in everything and you are not even showing your report card. We tell you to ask for votes on the basis of the work you have done," he said.
He also hit back at the BJP over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks that Sonia Gandhi "spent more than 70 per cent of MP funds on minorities".
Kharge said MPs get Rs 5 crore in MPLADS funds every year and asked if part of it is spent on construction of roads, is it a big deal.
"MP fund has Rs 5 crore. You (BJP) have waived off the Rs 16 lakh crore debt of the rich and here, if Rs 1 crore is spent on the construction of roads, is it a big deal?"
He said Sonia Gandhi has taken care of everyone, does not do the politics of division and does not hurt people.
The Congress, on May 3, announced Rahul Gandhi as its candidate from Raebareli Lok Sabha seat and KL Sharma from Amethi.
Rahul Gandhi is a sitting MP in Kerala's Wayanad and is re-contesting from the seat. He lost to Union Minister Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
