"Congress tried to give reservation to Muslims by reducing SC/ST quota": PM Modi in Rajasthan

Tonk (Rajasthan) [India], April 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress on Tuesday, accusing it of attempting to provide reservations to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh in 2004 by reducing Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) reservations, disregarding the Constitution.
While addressing a public gathering in Rajasthan's Tonk, PM Modi said that the right to reservation was given by Babasaheb Ambedkar to Dalits, backward classes, and Adivasis, but the Congress and the INDIA bloc wanted to give it to Muslims based on religion.
"The Congress party has played with the Constitution of this country. When the Constitution was drafted, reservation based on religion was opposed so that SC, ST, and OBCs could get protection. In his speech, former PM Dr Manmohan Singh said that Muslims have the first right on the country's resources. This was Manmohan Singh's statement. Congress' thinking has always been of appeasement and vote bank politics," PM Modi said.
Further, sharpening his attacks, PM Modi said that the thinking of Congress has always been of appeasement and vote bank politics.
"As soon as the Congress government came to power at the Centre in 2004, its first task was to try to give reservation to Muslims by reducing SC/ST reservations in Andhra Pradesh. This was a pilot project that Congress wanted to try in the entire country. Between 2004 and 2010, Congress tried four times to implement Muslim reservations in Andhra Pradesh. However, due to legal hurdles and the awareness of the Supreme Court, they could not fulfill this plan. In 2011, Congress tried to implement it across the country. They snatched the rights given to SC/STs and OBCs and gave them to others for vote-bank politics. Congress made all these efforts knowing that all this was against the basic spirit of the Constitution. But Congress did not care about the Constitution," he added.
"The Constitution is completely against it. The right of reservation that Baba Saheb gave to Dalits, backward classes, and tribals, Congress and the INDI alliance wanted to give it to Muslims based on religion. Amid these conspiracies of Congress, Modi is today guaranteeing you from an open platform that reservations for Dalits, backward classes, and tribals will neither be ended nor will be allowed to be divided in the name of religion. This is Modi's guarantee," he said.
Amid a debate on his remarks that "Congress wants to snatch women's Mangalsutra," PM Modi reiterated on Tuesday that he had put the truth before the country that Congress is hatching a 'deep' conspiracy to snatch properties of the citizens of this country and distribute them among its own special people.
"When I came to Rajasthan the day before yesterday, I had presented some truths before the country in my 90-second speech. This has created panic in the entire Congress and INDI alliance. I had put the truth before the country. Congress is hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch your property and distribute it among their own special people. I exposed their vote bank and appeasement politics. After all, why is Congress so afraid of the truth?" he said.
Voting for 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan was held in the first phase of polling on April 19, while the remaining 13 will go to polls in the second phase on April 26.