BackGovt will not scrap reservation for Dalits: Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign in Tamil Nadu ahead of assembly elections
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Coimbatore: Ruling out scrapping reservation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a veiled attack on Congress saying a “campaign of lies" has been let loose on the issue of Dalits under a “deliberate conspiracy" to disintegrate the country.
“Earlier they tried to instigate farmers. That did not succeed... now in the name of Dalits, lies are being spread. Wherever they go, whenever they go, they utter lies. They repeat the lies on top of their voice. A campaign of lies has been let loose to mislead and fool Dalits," the prime minister said.
“It is a deliberate conspiracy to mislead people, make them fight against each other and to disintegrate the country. They are feeling frustrated because power has been taken away from them. They always believed that they (Dalits) are their voters and now Modi is working for them. They fear what to do with Modi. They want to prevent Dalits from backing Modi," he said.
Though he did not name anyone, Modi’s attack appeared to be directed against Congress party and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who recently made two trips to Hyderabad Central University to join protests over the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula.
On Saturday, Gandhi had accused Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of trying to crush the spirit of students by imposing “one idea from the top". The public meeting was to kick-start Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, but Modi concentrated on national issues and made no reference at all to state politics.
He said the opposition was worried over the National Democratic Alliance government taking several steps to highlight the achievements of Dalit leader B.R. Ambedkar. Utilizing the occasion, the prime minister said “lies are also being spread that Modi is going to take away reservation from Dalits, OBCs (other backward classes), oppressed and the depressed. Please listen to me carefully. Dalits should progress. I assure the nation that nobody can do away with reservation till the name of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar remains alive".
He listed steps and initiatives taken by his government in commemoration of Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary. PTI
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