The BJP will neither remove reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs nor will it allow anyone to do so, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday, calling it a "Modi guarantee".
Opposition parties have repeatedly claimed that the BJP's call for "abki baar 400 paar" is aimed at winning 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections to have the numbers in Parliament to scrap quotas for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Speaking at a rally in support of Rajveer Singh, the BJP candidate from Etah-Kasganj, Shah alleged that the opposition parties ignored people from backward communities, who were granted their rights by Narendra Modi after he became prime minister.
Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said, "Rahul Gandhi says that if the BJP gets 400 seats, it will remove reservation. I want to say that we had a full majority for two terms but Narendra Modi is a supporter of reservation." "I want to say that it is a Modi guarantee that neither will the BJP remove reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs nor will it allow anyone to do so," Shah said.
The home minister also hit out at the opposition for keeping the Ram temple issue "hanging" and said the public has to choose between "those who opened fire at karsevaks and those who built the Ram temple."
Attacking opposition party leaders for not attending the Ram temple consecration ceremony, Shah said in Kasganj, "The people who did not go to the consecration ceremony, they know that they are the people who shot at karsevaks." He asserted that there are two groups to choose from -- "one that fired shots at Ram bhakts and one that built the Ram temple".
"The Congress, Rahul 'baba' and the party of Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) kept the Ram temple issue hanging for more than 70 years. You made Modi ji the prime minister for a second time and he did 'Jai Shri Ram' by doing the consecration ceremony on January 22," Shah said.
In Mainpuri, campaigning for BJP candidate Jaiveer Singh Thakur -- who is contesting against Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav -- the home minister said, "Akhilesh (Yadav) ji, Dimple (Yadav) ji, because of whose fear did you people not go to the Ram temple consecration? Even Azam Khan is now in jail." Shah alleged that the Samajwadi Party leaders did not attend the ceremony due to fear of losing their vote bank.
"But the BJP is not afraid of (losing) vote banks. We built a temple where Lord Shri Ram was born," he said.
Listing the BJP government's schemes, including free ration and homes to the poor, Shah said in Kasgang the free ration scheme will continue till 2029 if the BJP returns to power.
He also hit out at Samajwadi Party chief Yadav for allegedly fielding only members of his family.
Alleging that people had to migrate during the Samajwadi Party government, Shah said "goondas are forced to migrate not people" under BJP rule in Uttar Pradesh.
"In Uttar Pradesh, where once bombs exploded, today 'bombs' are being manufactured for export under the leadership of Modi," Shah said in Kasganj.
In Mainpuri, Shah claimed that the BJP will win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Targeting Yadav, he said the wind in favour of the BJP has blown from the west and it will wipe out the Samajwadi Party and the Congress everywhere via Mainpuri and Azamgarh.
He also asserted that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win 400 seats under Modi's leadership.
Taking a swipe at the INDIA bloc, Shah asked who the prime minister would be if the opposition alliance won a majority.
He also asked the gathering if anyone except Modi can effectively run the country.
In Kasganj, Shah claimed that the BJP will secure more than 100 seats from the constituencies that went to the polls in the first two phases while the Congress and the Samajwadi Party will not be able to open their accounts.
Campaigning for Ram Shankar Katheria in Etawah, Shah said that on one side, there is a "corrupt INDI alliance" while on the other, there is Narendra Modi, who doesn't have any allegations against him despite serving as a chief minister and the prime minister for more than 23 years.
"On one hand, there is Rahul Gandhi who leaves for vacations in Thailand in the summers. On the other hand, there is Narendra Modi who celebrated Diwali with soldiers on the border for 23 years," Shah said.
He also accused the opposition for protecting Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, for their vote bank.
Polling in Etah-Kasganj and Mainpuri will be held in the third phase on May 7. Etawah goes to the polls in the fourth phase on May 13.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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