National desk
22 May
Sandeep Dhand Ludhiana
With two phases left in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ramped up his criticisms of the Congress party, targeting late prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Speaking in Champaran, Bihar, Modi invoked BR Ambedkar, asserting that Nehru opposed reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and only conceded due to Ambedkar’s influence.
“Had Babasaheb Ambedkar not been there, Nehru would not have allowed reservation for the SCs and STs. He wrote to the chief ministers of the time opposing reservation. The Congress mindset has always been anti-reservation,” Modi claimed. This statement counters the INDIA bloc’s accusation that the BJP seeks a Lok Sabha majority to “change the Constitution and scrap constitutional quotas.”
Modi argued that reservations for SCs, STs, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) are secure under the BJP-led NDA, citing the constitutional status given to the National Backward Classes Commission and the extension of OBC quotas to Sainik Schools. He accused all Nehru-Gandhi family prime ministers of opposing OBC quotas and betraying the deprived communities, claiming that the Congress now relies on a single vote bank.
Modi further alleged that the Congress aims to “usurp SC, ST, OBC quota and give it to those who practise vote jihad,” a charge he repeated during his rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj. There, he referenced the 1975 Allahabad High Court judgment that disqualified Indira Gandhi for electoral malpractices, to argue that Congress poses a significant threat to the Constitution.
“In Raebareli, when democracy was throttled by Indira Gandhi, it was the Allahabad High Court that disqualified her from contesting elections,” Modi stated, criticizing the SP-Congress alliance for allegedly attempting to undermine quotas in favor of “vote jihad practitioners.”
At another rally in his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi, Modi highlighted his pro-women agenda, promising to transform women’s “shakti into mahashakti” if re-elected. He listed government schemes on rural housing, subsidised cooking gas, and solar panels, emphasizing the crucial role of women in both home and nation-building.
The Prime Minister’s intensified campaign comes as the NDA seeks to consolidate support in the final stretch of the elections, emphasizing its commitment to social justice and economic empowerment.