Laying the foundation stone for the Ambedkar National memorial, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that there will be no change in the reservation policy for the Dalits.
He also asserted that nobody can snatch their rights even as he accused his opponents of spreading lies on the issue. The Prime Minister also compared Constitution architect BR Ambedkar to Martin Luther King who had fought for the rights of African-Americans.
Nothing has ever happened to the reservation for Dalits or tribals, when we were in power but still lies are being spread to mislead the people. When Vajpayee Ji became PM, a false campaign was run saying reservation will be abolished. He was the Prime Minister for two terms and nothing of that sort happened. BJP has ruled in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Haryana for many years and the quota policy never suffered a scratch. Yet lies are being spread. People, who are only interested in doing politics, fail to come out of it.
Asserting that quota was the “right” of the Dalits and the underprivileged that nobody could snatch, the Prime Minister noted, “As I had earlier said, even if Ambedkar himself appears today, he cannot snatch this right of yours. What are we before Baba Saheb?”
The Prime Minister’s renewed pitch on reservation comes ahead of assembly polls in five states – West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry beginning next month.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)