Union Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah during the release of party's manifesto for Maharashtra Assembly elections, in Mumbai, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Building up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s "ek hai toh safe hai" narrative, BJP’s chief strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused the Congress of making attempts to cut the existing quota of SCs, STs and OBCs, and give it to Muslims.
“Recently I saw reports and documents which revealed that a delegation of Muslim clerics submitted a letter regarding several demands for Muslim community. One of the demands is reservation and Congress President Nana Patole, acknowledged this…tell me…are the people of Maharashtra in favour of giving the right of reservation for the SC-Dalits, ST-Adivasis and OBCs to the Muslims?,” Shah said, adding: “Hence, there is need for the SCs, STs and OBCs to remain united (and thwart attempts to dilute their quota).”
“In the Constitution of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, there is no provision for reservation based on religion. However, Congress promised reservations before coming to power, and people should take cognizance of this issue,” he added.
Shah's comment on what Modi meant by ‘ek hai to safe hai’ came during the release of BJP-led Maha Yuti's poll manifesto in Mumbai.
In reply to a question, Shah said that once the Maha Yuti comes to power again, the government will form a committee to discuss and bring a stringent law to curb religious conversions.
Regarding the NDA manifesto, he said, “Our promises are sacrosanct. The entire country has seen that the NDA government has fulfilled the ‘sankalps’. No one believed that Article 370 would be abolished from the country. However, under the leadership of Modi, it has been scrapped. No one believed that the CAA would be introduced, no one thought triple-talaq would be abolished…no one thought that a grand Ram mandir would come up.”
Shah slams Uddhav Thackeray
Shah also slammed Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray for joining hands with the Congress-NCP Democratic Front and forming the Maha Vikas Aghadi. "I want to ask Thackeray if he can request Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to say two good words for Veer Savarkar and a few words in honour of Balasaheb Thackeray,” he said, adding that Thackeray is sitting with people who oppose Ram Mandir, Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Uniform Civil Code, Waqf board amendments, and abuse Savarkar.
CM to be decided after polls: Shah
On the question of who the Chief Minister would be if the Maha Yuti wins, Shah, said: “Shinde is the Chief Minister now…after the polling when the results are out, the three parties would sit together and decide”.
RSS always emerged stronger: HM
On the demand from the purported letter of the Ulemas seeking a ban on the RSS, Shah said: “Three times (Congress) has tried it and every time RSS has emerged stronger.”
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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