The Congress is trying to break the collective strength of SC, ST and OBC by creating divisions among them to weaken their voice and eventually end the reservation for them, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he called for unity among these communities. “That's why I keep saying ‘ek rahenge, toh safe rahenge (if you remain united, you would be safe)," he said while interacting with BJP workers in Jharkhand under the 'mera booth sabse mazboot' programme through the NaMo app. The state goes to assembly polls on November 13 and 20.
Modi also highlighted the "failures" of the JMM-Congress-RJD combine's five-year rule and said the state has to be freed from “corruption, mafiaism and misrule” to put it on the path of progress.
The kind of blessings that the BJP is receiving at booth levels, it's clear that the “corrupt” JMM-led government is set to be ousted, Modi asserted.“The countdown has begun,” he said.
Modi said “everyone from the royal family” of the Congress -- from Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi -- were “staunch opponents” of the provision of reservation and the party crushed all the voices rising in its favour till it was at the helm from “panchayat to Parliament” as the Dalit, OBC and Adivasi societies were scattered then.
But, gradually they started understanding what B R Ambedkar had said and came together posing a challenge to the Congress in many of the states, he said
“The OBC society could not come together till 1990. But when they came together, the Congress suffered severe losses.
"Since then, the Congress has not been able to form its government with a full majority. It has its government in just three states in the country today,” he added.
Modi said the Congress has decided to break “the collective strength” of the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and the Other backward Classes (OBC) as its “royal family is angry”.
“It has become their (Congress') agenda over the past few years. It's because the states, which have the highest number of Dalits, OBC, Adivasis, are under the BJP-NDA rule today and there is no possibility of the Congress coming to power in these states,” he said
Modi said the Congress wants Dalits, tribals and other backward classes to break into “hundreds of smaller castes”, instead of collectively being the SC, ST and OBC, so that they get scattered, lose their identity and fight with each other.
“When these societies break into smaller castes, their voice as SC, ST and OBC will become weak. The day this happens, the Congress' conspiracy will succeed. It will take away reservation as well,” he said.
“That's why I keep saying ‘ek rahenge, toh safe rahenge (if you remain united, you would be safe).
All the OBC, SC and ST societies should remain united,” Modi said.
“People have shared on social media an old advertisement given by the Congress during elections… Perhaps Rajiv Gandhi was the leader of the party then.
"The SC, ST and OBC have been painted so ugly in this advertisement. In their advertisement, they have clearly said that reservation has to be taken away from the SC, ST and the OBC,” he added.
Modi launched an all-out attack on the Congress, JMM and RJD and accused them of making tall claims but failing to deliver on their promises.
He said in these polls, the people of Jharkhand are determined to bring change. The biggest reason for this, the prime minister said, is that JMM, Congress and RJD have attacked Jharkhand's "roti, beti and maati" (bread, daughters and land).
"They made tall claims in the last five years, but today the people of Jharkhand can see that most of their promises are false," Modi said.
He said despite the lack of cooperation from the state government, the Centre is trying its best to develop the state with its mantra of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'.
Dynastic parties are not only corrupt but also the biggest hurdle for talented youth of the society, he said. Modi said that the JMM too has learned these tricks from the "royal family" of the Congress. It now only cares for power and money, the prime minister alleged.
Earlier, the rich had gas cylinders in their homes and the poor could not even think of having a gas cylinder, he said adding the reason being that Congress had the nature of catering to the rich. The BJP delivered gas cylinders to the homes of people through the government's 'Ujjwala' scheme, Modi noted.