If Ambedkar was not there, Nehru would not have allowed reservations: PM

PTI, May 21, 2024, 4:47 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a fresh attack on the Congress, accusing its top leaders, including first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, of having “opposed” reservations for deprived castes.

“Had it not been for Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Nehru would have never agreed to quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs. Nehru had made his views clear on the issue in letters he wrote to the then chief ministers in the country”, claimed Modi at a rally in Purbi Champaran Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar.

“This has been the Congress’ trait under successive prime ministers. Be it, Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi, they all opposed reservations. SCs, STs and OBCs have never got respect from the Congress”, the PM added.

Modi made the allegation while lashing out at the opposition for spreading a “falsehood” that the BJP, upon return to power with a brute majority, could scrap quotas by changing the Constitution.

“The truth is that we have been protecting the rights of the deprived castes”, claimed the prime minister who spelt out his government’s measures to assert “it is only with the NDA led by BJP that rights of SCs, STs and OBCs are secure”.

Modi also charged the INDIA bloc with having plans to give reservation benefits “on the basis of religion”.

“They want to do this because they are now left with just one vote bank. They are no longer supported by SCs, STs and OBCs, so they now care for only those carrying out a vote jihad”, alleged Modi.