(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent accusation against the Congress, alleging plans to redistribute reservations along religious lines, has sparked significant public debate amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2024. While PM Modi has clearly stated that his government won't let quotas for SCs, STs, OBCs and other deprived groups to be given to Muslims based on religion, the Congress party has dubbed these allegations as a 'blatant lie'.
Amidst the raging political debate, Professor Dilip Mandal has shed light
on the complexities of the issue, particularly in the context of PM Modi's accusations against the Congress and its historical stance on minority reservations.
In a recent podcast with New India Junction, Professor Dilip Mandal said, "Narendra Modi is the biggest beneficiary of the Indian Constitution. If you look at it, it is a socialist idea, which Rahul Gandhi is talking about a lot, what is the main problem - if you see redistribution as an idea, or you have a problem with wealth creation - then what do will you distribute? Will you distribute poverty? This world has been created so that man can earn money, so that people can earn more money."
Central to Professor Mandal's discourse is the excerpt from the Congress's 2009 manifesto, which he shares to underscore the party's stance on minority reservations.
"In its 2009 manifesto, Congress stated, 'The Indian National Congress has pioneered reservations for minorities in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in government employment and education on the basis of their social-economic backwardness. We're committed to adopt this policy at the national level'. When I posted this on social media for the first time, people were surprised. That means Congress have already said this in the past," Professor Mandal remarked.
During an election rally in
Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana recently, PM Modi
asserted that he would not let the quotas of Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs be given to Muslims on the basis of religion.
Targeting the Congress, he criticized the party for its governance in undivided Andhra Pradesh from 2004 to 2009, accusing it of turning the state into a "laboratory of appeasement." He alleged that the Congress granted reservation benefits to Muslims among the Backward Classes (BCs) and harbored animosity towards the Constitution from its inception.
"As long as Modi is alive, I will not let reservations of Dalits, Adivasis, OBC to be given to Muslims on the basis of religion," PM Modi said during his rally on Tuesday.
He asserted that when the Congress secured a significant number of MPs and MLAs in undivided Andhra Pradesh during 2004 and 2009, it extended Backward Class (BC) reservation benefits to Muslims.
Furthermore, he highlighted a disparity in treatment, noting that while 26 castes in Telangana had long sought Other Backward Class (OBC) status, the Congress did not address their concerns. Instead, it allegedly designated Muslims as OBCs "overnight."
He further accused the Congress of disrespecting the Constitution from its inception by removing depictions of Ramayan and Mahabharat from the document originally provided by BR Ambedkar.
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