MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while campaigning for the BJP candidate in Nasik on Wednesday, claimed that Congress planned to divide India’s budget on the basis of religion, of which 15% would be allocated to the Muslim community.
PM Narendra Modi accused the Congress party of playing divisive and minority vote-bank politics. He said Dr BR Ambedkar had opposed the reservation on the basis of religion, but the Congress party extended the reservations on the basis of religion.
“They can snatch away the existing reservations of backward communities (SC, ST and OBC) and give it away to Muslim community. However, we will not allow that to happen,” the Prime Minister said.
He added that the Congress was intending and talking about distributing wealth to minorities. “Congress will take away wealth from the people and will give it away to the Muslim community. Modi will not allow the theft of reservations and wealth of common people. We never give any government benefits on the basis of caste or religion," he said.
"The welfare schemes of the government, such as ration, gas, electricity, water etc are not given on the basis of religion and caste, but on the basis of the needs of the people. Congress wants to divide the budget of the country on the basis of religion to make its minority vote bank, but we will not allow this to happen,” Modi added.
Criticising Uddhav Thackeray, Modi said that Uddhav Thackeray has surrendered before the Congress party.
“Balasaheb Thackeray batted for the construction of the Ram temple and the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, but his son is sharing the stage and having alliance with very parties that opposed both things. Congress criticises Veer Savarkar and people of Maharashtra will not tolerate anything against Savarkar. Balasaheb Thackeray would have been unhappy with his son Uddhav Thackeray who is bent on destroying his father’s dreams. The people of Maharashtra will teach him a lesson through their voting,” Modi said.
He also took potshots at former union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, claiming that the NCP patriarch did not do anything for Maharashtra. He said Sharad Pawar rightly said that the smaller parties, including NCP and Shiv Sena, could be merged with Congress after the Lok Sabha elections.