News Brief
Kuldeep Negi
May 09, 2024, 09:14 AM | Updated 09:13 AM IST
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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday (8 May) accused the former Congress-led UPA government of attempting to reduce reservations for OBC, SC, and ST communities by allocating quotas to Muslims.
The UP CM claimed that the UPA, under Sonia Gandhi's chairmanship from 2004 to 2014, appointed the Justice Ranganath Mishra Committee which recommended that 6 per cent of the OBC reservation be given to Muslims.
"As UPA chairperson from 2004 to 2014, Sonia Gandhi constituted Justice Ranganath Mishra's committee to put a dent in the OBC reservation and the committee had recommended that 6 per cent of the OBC reservation should be given to Muslims," Adityanath was quoted as saying by ANI.
He credited BJP and NDA protests at the time for thwarting these efforts.
"Their plans could not be fulfilled, and then these people also tried to intrude on the rights of SC, ST and that in the Sachar Committee Report, some castes of Muslims should be included in the Scheduled Castes," Adityanath stated.
"The Congress manifesto is divisive. The plans of Congress will not be fulfilled and at least Sonia Gandhi should develop the habit of speaking the truth," he added.
He also responded to accusations from Congress of BJP's divisive politics by citing the proverb 'Ulta chor kotwaal ko daante', suggesting that Congress has inherited the British 'divide and rule' strategy, which resulted in the partition of the country.
Earlier in the day, during an election rally in Kanpur for the Akbarpur Lok Sabha seat, Adityanath framed the election as a battle between 'Ram Bhakts' and 'Ramdrohis'.
He said the ongoing elections echo the slogan 'Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar, Abki Baar 400 Paar' and stressed the dichotomy between nationalists and those he termed as conspirators against India.
"When they fail to comprehend anything, they resort to conspiracies against India. Statements from opposition parties indicate that these elections are between 'Ram Bhakts' and 'Ramdrohis'. Those who are 'Ram Bhakts' are also 'Rashtra Bhakts' of the nation," he said.
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Kuldeep is Senior Editor (Newsroom) at Swarajya. He tweets at @kaydnegi.