PM Modi says great men like Nehru and Ambedkar were against reservation based on religion

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Indian National Congress party’s original sin was to give Muslims in Karnataka the status of ‘other backward classes’ (OBC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi.

“Great men like Pandit Nehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar were present there and decided, after long contemplation, that reservation cannot be given on the basis of religion in a country like India,” he added.

The campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Modi, has focussed on the appeasement of Muslims in the country by Congress governments, both at the centre and in the states.

Communities identified as OBC are eligible for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, much like affirmative action for minorities in other countries like the US, to correct the social inequalities of the past and give marginalised communities an opportunity to empower themselves.

Edited Excerpts:

Rahul Joshi: You made a direct attack on the Congress manifesto in a rally in Rajasthan. You even said that they have a scheme through which they want to distribute wealth. They want to find out who has how much savings, who has how much money, who has how much gold, silver and they want to distribute it among Muslims and infiltrators. Is this threat so real? Do you see it like that?

PM Modi:  As far as the Congress manifesto is concerned, someone please tell me, are the manifestos of political parties during elections a mere showpiece? This is the work of the media to read the manifestos of every political party.

I was waiting for the media to comment on it. I had commented on the manifesto on the first day. After seeing the manifesto, I feel that it has the stamp of the Muslim League. I thought that the media would be shocked.

But they just kept saying whatever is presented by the Congress. Then I thought that this seemed to be a big scam of the ecosystem and I would have to bring the truth.

I waited for 10 days for the evils in the manifesto to be brought out by someone or the other because if it is brought out in an unbiased manner, it is good. Finally, I was forced to bring out these truths.

You see when one of their greats gave an interview in America where he brought up the issue of inheritance tax, about 55% tax on your property. Now I am talking about development and inheritance and they are talking of plundering that inheritance.

Their history to date is about doing what they have mentioned in the manifesto. It is my responsibility to tell the countrymen that they are taking the country in this direction.

Now you decide whether you want to go or not. But it is my responsibility that on the basis of facts and importance, I should tell you [the truth].

Rahul Joshi: A video of 2006 is going viral in which Manmohan Singh-ji has said that poor Muslims have the first right on resources. He has clearly said this. You have also pointed out this in the Manifesto that he would like to take a part of OBC reservation and give it to Muslims and between 2004-2014, he has tried to do this four to five times.

PM Modi: You have asked a very interesting question. The answer will be long but, for the sake of the country, I will have to tell you.

You see the history of Congress; this demand has been raised since the 1990s. There is a huge section of society in the country which felt that something should be done for them, and there were protests for it.

Before 1990, Congress completely opposed it and suppressed it. Then whatever commissions they formed, whatever committees they formed, their reports also started coming in favour of OBCs.

They kept denying, rejecting, and suppressing these views. But after the 90s, due to vote-bank politics, they felt something must be done.

So, what was the first sin they committed? In the 90s, they decided to classify Muslims as OBCs in Karnataka. So, they were suppressing and desecrating the idea earlier but, for political gains, they labelled Muslims as OBCs.

Congress was ousted from the Centre. This plan remained stalled till 2004. When Congress came back in 2004, it immediately decided to give OBC quota to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh.

The matter got complicated in court. The Indian Parliament had decided to give 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in line with the basic spirit of the Constitution. Now, they tried to appropriate this 27 per cent quota.

In 2006, a meeting of the National Development Council was held where there was a huge uproar over the statement of Singh. They remained quiet for two years. In the Ghoshana Patra of 2009, they mentioned it again.

In 2011, there is a Cabinet Note on this where they decided to give the OBC share to Muslims. They tried this in the UP elections too but to no avail. In 2012, the Andhra High Court cancelled it.

They went to Supreme Court, even there they did not get any relief. The 2014 Manifesto also talked about reservation on the basis of religion. When the Constitution of India was made, no RSS or BJP people were present.

Great men like Pandit Nehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar were present there and decided, after long contemplation, that reservation cannot be given on the basis of religion in a country like India.

See their manifesto for the 2024 elections. It has the imprint of the Muslim League. The way they are flouting the Constitution, the way they are insulting Ambedkar… There is a threat to reservation for SCs and STs. Should I not inform the people of the country about this? I believe that it is the responsibility of all the learned people, who are rich in knowledge, who are unbiased, to educate this country, to tell it the right things.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow