Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting ahead of Jharkhand Assembly elections, in Gumla district, Jharkhand, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday during an election rally in Jharkhand, alleged that the Congress wants the OBC community to break into several smaller castes.
He said, "The community got reservation in 1990. Since then, the united OBC castes have prevented the Congress from winning even 250 seats in the Lok Sabha. That is why the Congress wants to break this collective power of the OBC.”
The PM accused the Congress of “attacking the unity” of SC, ST, and OBC communities, alleging that the party was trying to do away with reservation.
“Ek rahenge to safe rahenge (We will be safe if we stand as one),” the PM urged voters at an election rally in Jharkhand’s Gumla, adding that the focus should be on four new castes — women, poor, farmers and youth.
“The Congress wants to take away the reservation of ST communities. The voices of all castes here will only have power if they remain united as one. The Congress wants them to fight internally and become weak,” the PM said.
He added that the Congress knows it was wiped out in Adivasi, OBC and Dalit majority areas because these communities united. “That is why it is attacking the unity of those communities.”
He said that the Congress party has historically opposed reservations for the OBC community. “Kaka Saheb Kalelkar recommended in 1955 that the backward classes be given reservation, but Jawaharlal Nehru put the files in cold storage. In 1980, the Mandal Commission recommended reservations for OBCs, but Indira Gandhi shelved the file.”
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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