Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched his campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly elections and led a sharp attack against the Congress and the INDIA bloc for trying to break the collective might of the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities.
Urging the SC, ST and OBC communities to be wary of the Congress' design, the PM gave a clarion call for unity among all castes and classes. The Congress, he said, was on a mission to make one caste fight against the other and ensure they never realise their collective might.
“The sole agenda of the Congress party is to make one caste fight against another. They do not want SCs, STs and OBCs to progress and get their due recognition… Remember, ‘Ek Hain to Safe Hain’ (We are safe if we are united),” The PM said addressing a rally in Dhule, Maharashtra.
The Prime Minister said that the Congress has been traditionally opposed to reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs. “From Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi to the fourth generation leader (Rahul), all of them have been opposed to reservations for these communities,” he said.
“The Congress is playing a dangerous game of pitting one caste against another. And this game is being played because Congress can never see the Dalits, backward classes and tribals progressing. This is the history of Congress,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s remarks came in the backdrop of the Congress’ concerted campaign to establish that the BJP is out to change the Constitution since it wants to end reservations in India. The campaign bore fruit in the Lok Sabha elections as the BJP failed to cross the majority mark on its own and formed a government with the help of JD(U) and TDP.
Maharashtra was one of the key battlegrounds where the BJP faced a significant setback and was restricted to a dismal 9 of the 28 seats it contested in Maharashtra. The party is contesting 152 seats as part of the Mahayuti for elections to the 288-member Assembly.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to address two rallies in Maharashtra where Assembly polls are due to be held on November 20. After Dhule, the Prime Minister is scheduled to head to Nashik where he will address another rally. The PM is expected to address 14 poll rallies in Maharashtra over the course of the next five days.
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