Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting for Lok Sabha elections, in Ahmednagar, Madhya Pradesh, Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Dhar (MP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he wants the BJP-led NDA to win 400 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls to ensure the Congress does not bring back Article 370 in Kashmir and put a "Babri lock" on the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Addressing a rally at Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, Modi also slammed RJD president Lalu Prasad's statement over favouring reservation benefits to Muslims.
He said the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc's "conspiracy" is deeper and it wants all reservation of the SCs, STs and OBCs for its vote bank.
He also accused the Congress of belittling Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, adding the opposition party has started saying he had a very little role in framing the Constitution. "The truth is that the Congress parivar deeply hates Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Modi said.
The PM said the Congress is spreading rumours that if he gets 400 Lok Sabha seats, he will change the Constitution. It seems as if the Congress people's intelligence is focussed on their vote bank, he said. "It is important for the country's people to know the BJP-led NDA already has 400-plus seats in Parliament. We used this number to scrap Article 370 (which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir)," the PM said.
“Modi wants 400 seats so that the Congress won’t bring back Article 370 to spoil the game, Modi wants 400 seats so that the Congress won’t put a Babri lock on the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” he said.
The PM said that about 14 days back, he challenged the Congress to give in writing to the country's 140 crore people that it will not give reservation on the basis of religion.
"Secondly, I asked them to give in writing that they will never snatch reservation being given to SCs, STs and OBC and thirdly, to give in writing that they will never give reservation to Muslims by committing dacoity from the existing OBC quota, but they are not responding and sitting silently by putting a lock on their mouths,” he said.
The PM said he wants 400 Lok Sabha seats to prevent Congress from "dacoity" of the OBC quota to benefit its vote bank.
“We have also used these 400 plus seats to extend SC/ST quota for 10 years, appoint a tribal woman as the country’s President for the first time and to provide reservation to women,” Modi said.
The PM said he is asking for 400 seats so that he can stop every conspiracy of the Congress and I.N.D.I.A. alliance. "Modi is asking for 400 seats so that the Congress does not hand over the country's vacant land and islands to other countries, it does not take away reservation given to SC/ST/OBCs and give it to its vote bank, and does not declare all castes of its vote bank as OBC overnight," he said.
Targeting Lalu Prasad, Modi said the Congress is making him "dance on their head".
"Their leader who has eaten animal fodder, has been convicted by court in a corruption case and is out on bail due to health reasons is saying Muslims should not just get reservation but all the reservation should be given to Muslims," Modi said.
"This means they want all the reservation to Muslims by snatching it from the SCs, STs and OBCs," he said.
These people are doing this because they are counting their remaining breaths with the help of this "very vote bank", everything else is over, nothing is left with them, Modi said.
"I was saying they will cut some part of the reservation and give it on the basis of religion but the conspiracy is deeper. They are saying on the day of voting that they want to give all the reservation of SCs, STs and OBCs to the Muslim community," he said.
"Do you accept this game of Congress and its allies? Should such people lose their deposits or not?" Modi asked.
He said Ambedkar had opposed religion-based reservation.
"Should such people be kept away from politics forever or not? This will be the biggest tribute to BR Ambedkar," he said.
When Congress was out of power, Ambedkar was given the Bharat Ratna, he added.
"The Congress has started saying that he (Ambedkar) had a very little role in framing the Constitution and Pandit Nehru made the most significant contribution in the making of the Constitution," Modi said.
He said the Congress has stabbed Ambedkar and the Constitution in the back. The Congress has sunk so deep into the quagmire of appeasement politics that it cannot see anything else, Modi said.
"If Congress has its way, it will say its vote bank has the first right to live in India," he added.
"Till Modi is alive, he will foil attempts to erase India’s identity in the name of fake and pseudo secularism,” the PM said.
Modi said the opposition was defeated in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, destroyed in the second phase, and whatever is left of it in the third phase today will also collapse.
"Because the whole country has decided 'fir ek baar'," he said, to which people added "Modi sarkar".
Modi said these "dynasts wrote false history to glorify themselves and now have started creating lies about the Constitution also.