Dalit quotas won’t end, lies being spread: Narendra Modi

Ruling out scrapping of reservations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a veiled attack on the Congress on Tuesday, saying a “campaign of lies” was unleashed as part of a “deliberate conspiracy” to disintegrate the country.

“Earlier they tried to instigate farmers. That didn’t succeed... Now in the name of dalits, lies are being spread. Wherever they go, whenever they

go, they utter lies. A campaign of lies has been let loose... It is a deliberate conspiracy to mislead people, make them fight each other. They are feeling frustrated as power has been taken away from them. They always believed (dalits) are their voters and now Modi is working for them,” he said.

Mr Modi also attacked the Congress for stalling the Rajya Sabha, saying ever since “a tea seller” came to power at the Centre, it has not been able to reconcile itself to the loss of power. “In the last 19 months, there has been no corruption charge against anyone. No scam. They are worried... So they decided not to allow the Rajya Sabha (function). We will stall Modi. Several bills are pending. What is this politics Don’t damage the country,” he said, apparently referring to the GST Bill being stalled.

The PM’s attack appeared to be directed against Congress and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi.