10% reservation not to affect existing quotas: PM Modi

Interacting with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) booth workers from Baramati, Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Nanded and Nandurbar in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday the new 10% reservation for economically poor section and that the new quota would not hurt any existing reservation.

“We are increasing seats to give reservation. This quota will not reduce any existing reservation. As long as Modi is there in the country, no one can take away reservation for SC [Scheduled Caste], ST [Scheduled Tribe] and OBCs [Other Backward Classes,” the Prime Minister said, when asked how to counter the Congress campaign that this reservation will fail court’s scrutiny.

“They don’t have strength to face election on the basis of truth. They are on a slippery soil. Congress gives vote in favour of reservation in Parliament but then goes to court to play its own games. You have to tell the truth to people,” he said.

“BJP is the sole political party in the country that fully adheres to its democratic principles. We have always been at the forefront of preserving democracy in the country. Everyone knows that our karyakartas were the staunchest critics of the undemocratic Emergency when it was forcibly imposed on us,” he said.

Attacking Congress, he said that dynasty, corruption, casteism has been in the ‘gotra’ of the grand old party and when he says “Congress mukt Bharat”, it means fighting to remove this culture from Indian politics. He also slammed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, saying: “He was humiliated in the party just because he wanted to be a candidate for the party’s president. Such thing can happen in dynast parties. Despite this Pawarji has today joined hands with the Congress.”

First Published: Jan 23, 2019 23:58 IST