Dalit, ST quota will stay, asserts Modi

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the ongoing general election is a contest between the BJP-led NDA and the "corrupt INDIA bloc". Dubbing the Opposition alliance "inherently unstable" at an election rally in Haryana's Mahendragarh and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann a "kagzi CM" at a rally in Punjab’s Patiala, Mr Modi said the voters have to not only choose the next PM but also decide the country's future".

Addressing his second rally of the day in Patiala, Mr Modi launched a fierce attack on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and called Mr Mann "kagzi chief minister" (a CM just on paper).

Mr Modi said: “After the five phases of voting, the message of the people of India resonates with ‘Fir ek baar, Modi sarkar’.” He urged Punjab to vote en masse for the BJP to ensure a “Viksit Bharat” (developed India).

“This election is a contest between the NDA and the corrupt INDIA bloc to determine India’s future. On one hand, there is Modi, who aims to manufacture fighter jets in India, and on the other, there is the INDIA bloc, which aims to dismantle India’s nuclear arsenal,” the Prime Minister said.

He noted that while the BJP-led NDA has eliminated terrorism, enabled 25 crores to exit multidimensional poverty and oriented India’s development towards a Viksit Bharat, the INDIA bloc has shed tears over terrorists killed in encounters, perpetuated generations of poverty and turned India into a “loot machine”.

Blaming the Congress and the AAP for the problems in Punjab, Mr Modi said, “Rampant corruption and dampened industrial prospects have destroyed the state of Punjab. Today, resource mafia, drug mafia and shooter gangs rule the roost in Punjab.”

“Corrupt Congress and AAP are two sides of the same coin, aiming to plunder Punjab and deprive it of any development," Mr Modi said.  

He criticised the state government, saying, “The state government of Punjab is debt-ridden and its CM is only a chief minister on paper.”

The Prime Minister claimed that commemorating Veer Bal Diwas, bringing all Sikh brothers and sisters from Afghanistan to safety and retrieving the Holy Guru Granth Sahib were achievements of the BJP government at the Centre.
Hitting out at the Opposition for indulging in votebank politics, Mr Modi said, “The INDIA bloc opposes the CAA owing to their votebank politics. For the sake of the votebank, they aimed to prevent our Sikh brothers and sisters from coming to India after facing the horrors of partition.”

In his Mahendragarh rally in Haryana, Mr Modi asserted that the INDIA bloc is talking about having five Prime Ministers over the next five years and said, "The cow hasn't given milk, but the fight over ghee has started in the alliance."

“In the 2024 elections, people have understood the true face of the Congress,” Mr Modi said, accusing the Congress of prioritising its votebank and even supporting the partition of India for this reason.

“The Congress aims to provide religion-based reservations at the expense of SC, ST and OBC reservations,” he said, criticising the TMC government, a part of the INDIA bloc, for granting reservations in West Bengal to illegal immigrants from the minority community under the OBC category.

The Prime Minister noted that even the Calcutta high court overturned this blatant injustice being done to members of the OBC community and reprimanded the TMC government for granting religion-based reservations to illegal immigrants belonging to minority communities at the cost of reservations meant for the OBCs.

“Reservation for SC, ST and OBCs is their ‘adhikar’ (right) and Modi is the ‘chowkidar’ of this adhikar,” the Prime Minister said.

Emphasising the significance of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Mr Modi said, “The 2024 elections will determine the future of India.”

“The INDIA bloc only spreads the politics of communalism, casteism and dynasty,“ he said, accusing the Congress of developing an "anti-Shri Ram stance", boycotting the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony and conspiring to lock up the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Accusing the Congress of betraying Haryana's farmers, Mr Modi said that the state's farmers have suffered due to the Congress' betrayal. During his address, the Prime Minister also talked about showcasing Bajra-made products from Haryana to international delegates during the G-20 summit.

He also highlighted that his government gave priority to Haryana’s irrigation potential and provided MSP for more than 14 crops in the state.