New Delhi [India], May 5 : Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reservation jibe at Congress, party's General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday accused the PM of giving "communal colour" to the reservation and of propagating blatant lies.
Congress President Jairam Ramesh while speaking to ANI said, "The Prime Minister is trying to give a communal colour to the OBC reservation given in 1994. The reality is, that in 1994, in Karnataka, all backward communities of all religions were given reservations, be it Christians, Jains, everyone. We did not make religion the basis for giving reservations. We gave reservations given economic and social backwardness."
Ramesh raised concerns about the timing of PM Modi's remarks, questioning why the reservation debate has resurfaced after thirty years, especially during the rule of BJP-led governments both at the state and national levels.
"After 1994, there have been four BJP chief ministers in Karnataka... Narendra Modi has been the Prime Minister for 10 years. Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been the Prime Minister for 6 years and this issue has been raised after 30 years," Ramesh said.
The Congress veteran also mentioned the interview given by PM Modi to ANI, he said, "Some Muslim castes have also been included in the OBC list and the Prime Minister himself is taking credit for it and then he is blaming the Congress for giving reservation on the basis of religion".
Jairam Ramesh accused the Prime Minister of using irrelevant rhetoric and spreading misinformation to influence public opinion amid the ongoing elections.
"From April 19, the Prime Minister has only one issue. because he knows that 'dakshin Bharat me saaf, uttar Bharat me half', and hence he keeps mentioning Mangalsutra, Hindu Muslim, reservation to muslims, he is talking all irrelevant things and spreading lies. The answer to the lies will be found only through votes," Jairam Ramesh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a public rally in Rajasthan's Tonk on April 23, said that the right to reservation was given by Babasaheb Ambedkar to Dalits, backward classes, and Adivasis, but the Congress and the INDIA bloc wanted to give it to Muslims based on religion.
"The Congress party has played with the Constitution of this country. When the Constitution was drafted, reservation based on religion was opposed so that SC, ST, and OBCs could get protection. In his speech, former PM Dr Manmohan Singh said that Muslims have the first right to the country's resources. This was Manmohan Singh's statement. Congress' thinking has always been of appeasement and vote bank politics," PM Modi said.