Cong against OBC, BJP will not let anyone do away with reservation: Amit Shah

JAIPUR: Accusing the Congress of being against the Other Backward Classes, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Saturday said even if the opposition party wants to do away with the reservation given to SC, ST and OBCs, the BJP will not allow that to happen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi belongs to the OBC community, he said, adding that it was Modi who implemented schemes for people of small backward classes.

Shah was addressing an election rally in support of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the BJP's candidate and sitting MP from the Kota Lok Sabha seat.

"Even if the Congress party wants to remove SC, ST and OBC reservation... we will not allow it. This is Modi's guarantee," he asserted.

The Congress is a party which opposes Other Backward Classes (OBC), Shah alleged.

"The Congress government did not implement the Mandal Commission report. During a discussion in Parliament on reservation, Rahul baba's father Rajiv Gandhi spoke against it for two-and-a-half hours," he claimed.

Shah said Modi worked to give constitutional recognition to the backward commission.

"We worked to give 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in all central institutions in the country. Modi, under whom respect for the country increased all over the world, also comes from the OBC community," he said.

He said that before the Modi government, there was no scheme in the country for communities such as those of blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters and boat-makers but Modi spent Rs 13,000 crores and connected them with skill development and self-employment schemes.

Urging people to vote for the BJP candidate, Shah said, "Press the button of the lotus symbol on the EVM so hard so that electric shocks are felt in Italy."

Earlier, in an election rally in Bhilwara, Shah said that Rajasthan was going to give all 25 Lok Sabha seats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third time.

He also targeted former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, saying that he was "stuck" in the election campaign of his son Vaibhav Gehlot, the Congress candidate from the Jalore parliamentary constituency.

"The son is going to lose the election by a huge margin," the Union minister claimed, referring to Vaibhav Gehlot.

"The first phase of elections was held yesterday (Friday). All 12 seats of Rajasthan that voted in the first phase will go to Narendra Modi. Rajasthan is going to make a hat-trick of giving all 25 seats to Narendra Modi for a third time," he said.

Shah also hit out at Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, claiming that they go on vacations abroad every three months.

"Priyanka Gandhiji returned from Thailand after a vacation in the middle of the elections," he added.

Shah said voting for Modi meant voting for the creation of "Mahan Bharat". "Modi fulfilled all promises he made in the last 10 years," he added.

The Union home minister targeted Congress leaders for not attending the consecration ceremony at the Ayodhya Ram temple, alleging that they were afraid of losing their vote bank.

"The public will never forgive those who did not visit Ram Lalla out of greed for vote bank," he said.

Shah said that during the former UPA government's rule, terrorists used to infiltrate and carry out attacks. "When the Modi government was formed, terrorists attacked again in Pulwama. They forgot it was not a Congress government anymore but a BJP government and that Narendra Modi is the prime minister. In just 10 days, Modi eliminated terrorists by conducting surgical and air strikes in Pakistan," he added.

"There is peace in Kashmir and the northeast. Naxalism is on the verge of ending. Modi has worked to secure the country and make it prosperous. In 10 years, Modi worked to bring the economy from number 11 to five. Make Modi the prime minister for the third time and India will become the third-largest economy," Shah said.

The Union minister also highlighted the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission as an achievement of the Modi government.