Congress trying to eliminate Hindu faith, give job quotas to Muslims, says Narendra Modi

The Congress is engaged in a conspiracy to eliminate the Hindu faith, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a Lok Sabha an election rally in Nandurbar, Maharashtra on Friday.

He accused the Congress of spreading lies regarding job reservations and the Constitution.

Religion-based quotas

Raising the issue of religion-based quotas, he said such measures were against the intentions of the architect of the constitution, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Providing quota benefits on basis of religion is against the very values and principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution, he said.

“The hidden agenda of the Congress is to rob you of your quota and give it to Muslims,” Modi told the crowd at the Lok Sabha election rally in Nandurbar.

The Congress government in Karnataka included all Muslims in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category overnight and gave them reservation, he said.

He also said Congress never bothered about welfare of Adivasis.

Prime Minister Modi's ruling BJP has repeatedly accused the Congress of being “anti-Hindu” and “appeasing” Muslims.

The latest such exchange came after a study conducted by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) showed a decline of nearly 8% in the share of Hindus in the overall population from 1950 to 2015, and an increase of 43% in the proportion of Muslims during the same period.

The Prime Minister has in past spoken out against religion being the basis of providing reservations.

In an interview with Times Now, the Prime Minister said that the poor in the country include all Hindus, Christians, and Parsis and all should get the benefits of reservations.

"I have never said that Muslims won't get reservations. All I'm saying is that religion cannot be the basis of providing reservation. Poor in the country include all Hindus, Christians, and Parsis; all should get the benefits of reservations. Dalits and tribals for long have faced injustice for thousands of years, and there is a special reason that the makers of our constitution have taken the right decision, and we are grateful for that. No political party opposes this," the PM said.

Modi was campaigning in support of his party's candidate and Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Heena Gavit in Nandurdar. Gavit defeated Congress candidate and former state minister KC Padavi in the Last Lok Sabha election. This time, she is aiming to become a three-time winner from Nandurbar.