New Delhi:
Attacking the Congress Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked whether there has been a 'deal' in Wayanad to extend the benefit of reservation to the Muslim community.
He alleged that making reservations based on religion is “unconstitutional” and accused the Congress of taking away reservations from the SC, ST and OBC communities.
In an interview with TV9 Bharatvarsh, Prime Minister Modi said, “There is a question in my mind. Has there been a deal in Wayanad, that Muslims will get a share in the reservation and in return let us win the Wayanad seat? The country wants know this.”
“What is happening today is that they (Congress) are finding ways to take away the reservation for SC, ST and OBC given to them by the Constitution. They want to make a religion-based reservation,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi further said that the makers of the Constitution have decided that no reservation can be made on the basis of religion.
“When the Constitution was drafted, months of discussion took place. It was discussed among many knowledgeable people whether reservations should be made on religious basis. It was agreed that this cannot be done… now they are trying to give it reservation on religious basis, because of vote bank,” he said.
He also attacked the Congress Party for not going to Ayodhya Ram Mandir's Pran Pratishtha and accused the BJP of asserting their right over the temple.
“Can anyone have a right to the Almighty? An ordinary party like the BJP is nothing in the presence of Lord Ram. Lord Ram should belong to everyone. And why are they talking about this? To hide their hidden agenda of maintaining their vote bank,” PM Modi said.
“They (Congress) thought that if they went to Ram Mandir, they would lose their vote bank… if you remember, Rajiv Gandhi had started his election campaign from Ram Mandir. But then their vote bank asked, 'If you do this, What is the difference between you and the BJP?' So they walked away. Earlier they used to visit temples but not now as their vote bank had scolded them last time.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)