Chhattisgarh: PM Modi attacks Congress over caste quota

Raipur: A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made the "jitna abadi utna haq" (ensure rights according to the population) demand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday wondered if the grand old party wanted to give Muslims, the minority, a short shrift.

Addressing a public rally in Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar, in Chhattisgarh, Mr Modi said that the Congress wants that the rights to resources of the country should be decided based on populations.

The Congress should clarify if the party wanted to cut down on the rights of Muslims and the minority community, Mr Modi said.

“For me, the poor have the biggest abadi (population) in the county. They have the first right over resources. The welfare of the poor is my priority,” he added.

Mr Gandhi’s jitna abadi utna haq demand came hours after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar made public the findings of the caste census in his state on Monday.

The Prime Minister slammed the caste reservation demand by the Congress, saying that “for Modi, the poor are the biggest caste and biggest community in the country”.

Mr Modi cited a statement by former PM Manmohan Singh that minorities have the first right over resources and said that it was contradictory to the present stand of the grand old party on the issue.

“Manmohan Singhji used to say minorities have the first right over resources and Muslims have the first rights over resources. Now the Congress is saying that rights to resources should be decided as per the population of communities. Does the Congress want to snatch away the rights of Muslims?" he said.

Mr Modi said that Hindus have the biggest population and asked the Congress if the party wanted to remove Muslims considering its demand for giving rights according to populations.

Mr Modi said that he was committed to the uplift of the poor and his government has undertaken several measures in this direction.

Mr Modi accused the Congress of trying to divide the Hindus and the poor on caste lines to protect its vote bank.

The divisive policy of the Congress will not only destroy the grand old party but also the country, the Prime Minister warned, reiterating his assertion that the Congress is no longer run by its big leaders since they have been forced to keep their mouths shut.

The party has outsourced its functioning and is now being run by people with a nexus with anti-national forces, Mr Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that the Congress had made secret pacts with one or two countries and derived pleasure by portraying India poorly abroad and exhorted the people to be cautious about the intent of the grand old party.

In a separate programme in Jagdalpur, Mr Modi laid the foundation stones for several projects and unveiled several other projects worth '27,000 crores for Chhattisgarh.

He also dedicated to the nation the National Mineral Development Corporation’s steel plant at Nagarnar in Jagdalpur.

Mr Modi hit out at the Bhupesh Baghel government for not sending its representative to the function organised to dedicate the steel plant at Nagarnar to the nation.

He said that neither Mr Baghel nor deputy chief minister T.S. Singh Deo nor any state minister were present at the function, even though it concerned the development of the state.

Chhattisgarh governor Bishwa Bhushan Harichandan was present on the occasion.

Mr Modi also took note of the Bastar bandh call given by the ruling Congress coinciding with his visit to Jagdalpur, saying, "Despite this, a large number of people gathered at the function. It is a tight slap to the Congress."

Mr Modi described the Bhupesh Baghel government as highly corrupt and pointed out that corruption was reported even in the sale of cow dung by the government.

"Wherever the Congress gets a chance to rule a state, the party loots it. Congress has turned ‘Lok tantra (democracy) to ‘loot tantra’ and ‘Praja tantra’ to ‘Parivar tantra,” he said.

That is why, when the Congress loses power in a state, it fails to return to power in that state for decades, he said.

He said that the Congress had never bothered to ensure the development of the country and the party’s policy was to sell the country’s raw materials to foreign countries and get finished products from them to earn commissions.