NEW DELHI: Days after a big jump in representation for OBCs in the Union council of ministers, BJP has started amplifying PM Narendra Modi’s decision as a political message to the community’s voters who play a decisive role in several states, including UP.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the Modi dispensation has implemented the vision of BR Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia about inclusive representation and public participation in governance. “The ministry of PM Modi represents the entire India in true sense. The vision of our icons, especially thinkers like Baba Saheb and Lohia ji, of inclusive representation and public participation has been realised under Modi ji right from governance to society,” Yogi tweeted.
After 36 new faces were inducted on July 7, the Council now has 27 OBC ministers, 12 from Scheduled Castes and eight from Scheduled Tribes. Of the new faces who took oath, seven MPs from UP have been inducted into the Council.
The examples Yogi cited are a bid to lay claim to the legacy of the two leaders iconised by Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav. BJP’s strong performance in UP assembly and Lok Sabha polls has been powered substantially by the accretion of OBCs that helped the party touch the 40% mark.
“Lohia ji believed that democracy can be mature by empowering the backwards. The PM gave constitutional status to OBC commission and has given responsibility of government by increasing representation of the backward community in central ministry,” he said, adding, “Had Lohia been alive, he would have been pleased to see how his views have been realised.”
View More | Source: Times of India