At a rally in Nashik, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress for proposing to allocate 15% of the national government budget for religious minorities. He pledged to reject any attempts to split the budget or impose religious preferences in employment and education.
Modi accused Congress of using minority communities as a “vote bank” during his previous term from 2004 to 2014. He stressed that the BJP was vehemently opposed to the proposal to allocate budgets on the basis of religion, obstructing its implementation, reported the PTI.
The Prime Minister highlighted that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, architect of the Constitution, was opposed to reservation based on religion. He warned against the risky practice of dividing the budget along religious lines.
“We give the benefit of welfare schemes to all. But the Congress wants to divide and distribute budgets on the basis of religion. They divided the country on the basis of religion and continue to do so even today,” Prime Minister Modi said and added : “When I was the chief minister (of Gujarat), the Congress (then heading the UPA government) had raised this proposal (allocating 15 per cent of the budget for minorities). The BJP strongly opposed this move and , therefore, it could not be implemented. wants to present this dangerous proposal again (if voted to power).”
Modi also chastised the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena for allying with the Congress, calling it a “duplicate” party. He accused the Congress of discarding Hindu cultural practices and praised his government’s efforts to provide social programs to all sections of the society, irrespective of their faith, PTI reported.
“Merger of small parties with the Congress is sure to happen. When the duplicate Shiv Sena (referring to the Uddhav-led Sena UBT) merges, I will remember Balasaheb Thackeray’s words that if the Shiv Sena becomes like the Congress, will close “Now, the Shiv Sena duplicate will cease to exist. The duplicate Shiv Sena has crushed all the dreams of Balasaheb Thackeray,” he said.
“The dream has been fulfilled, but the Shiv Sena duplicate is upset. The Congress rejected the invitation for ‘pran pratistha’ (idol consecration ceremony at Ram temple) and the Shiv Sena duplicate also took the same path “said the prime minister.
“Congress leaders are criticizing the rituals performed at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, but the ‘duplicate’ Shiv Sena remains silent. Congress abuses (Hindutva icon) Veer Savarkar, but the Shiv Sena duplicate is supporting the Congress. The duplicate Shiv Sena has abjectly surrendered to the Congress. The people of Maharashtra have decided to punish the duplicate Shiv Sena,” Modi commented.
The Prime Minister highlighted farmers’ welfare measures such as abolition of ban on export of onions and expansion of onion stocks. He promised continued support to farmers and urged people to elect strong leaders for a prosperous India.
“Modi is the chowkidar (watchman) of the rights of the underprivileged sections of the society and will never allow the Congress to take away their rights. Modi will not allow budget distribution or dues to be based on religion,” the stalwart declared. of the BJP.
“Your service is the biggest goal of my life. In the last ten years, you have seen my work and now I have come to seek your blessings for a third term for a Viksit Bharat (developed India). If the (voting) trends of “The four phases held so far are an indication that the NDA will get a huge mandate,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi was campaigning for Bharati Pawar (BJP) and Hemant Godse (Shiv Sena), who are contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Nashik and Dindori, respectively.