INDIA bloc wants to turn country’s majority community into second-class citizens: PM

Ghosi/Deoria/Mirzapur (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the INDIA bloc parties of attempting to turn the country's majority community into second-class citizens and claimed that "jihadis" across the border support the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress.

Speaking at rallies in Ghosi, Deoria, and Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh's Purvanchal region to support BJP and NDA candidates in the upcoming seventh and final phase of the general elections on June 1, Modi alleged that the Opposition bloc plans to rewrite the Constitution to provide reservations based on religion.

"In Pakistan, 'duas' (prayers) are being made for the INDI alliance of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress. Jihadis across the border are supporting them. The SP and the Congress are making an appeal for 'vote jihad'," Modi said, referencing a remark by an INDIA bloc candidate.

He claimed that the INDIA bloc intends to reimpose Article 370 in Kashmir and repeal the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which grants citizenship to Partition victims. "Whose agenda is this... this is what these anti-India forces want?" Modi asked.

Modi accused the Opposition bloc of three major conspiracies: rewriting the Constitution to provide reservation based on religion, ending the reservation for SC, ST, and OBC communities, and allocating all reservations to Muslims. He cited a recent Calcutta High Court decision rejecting OBC reservation for 77 Muslim castes as evidence of this strategy.

He branded the bloc as communal and casteist, particularly targeting the SP for its alleged animosity towards law and order. Modi claimed that under SP rule, mafias flourished, but since Yogi Adityanath became chief minister, the environment has changed, with properties being reclaimed from mafias and redistributed to the poor.

Modi criticised the Congress and SP for their dynastic politics, which he said kept Purvanchal backward. He recalled the SP’s 2012 manifesto promise to provide Muslims with reservations equal to that of Dalits and accused the INDIA bloc of wanting to amend the Constitution to fulfil this promise. He also alleged that the Congress had created roadblocks for countries wanting to purchase BrahMos missiles, claiming that they did not want India to become self-reliant in the defence sector. Modi announced that BrahMos missiles would soon be manufactured in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi accused the Opposition of betraying Dalits, backward communities, and tribals by converting educational institutions into minority institutions and ending their reservations. He referenced the Ram temple in Ayodhya, accusing the SP and Congress of rejecting the invitation to the temple’s consecration ceremony and of wanting to reverse the verdict in the Ram temple case. Modi concluded by stating that the Opposition parties’ threats and fatwas against him would not succeed as long as he had the protective shield of the country’s mothers and sisters and the blessings of the people. He expressed confidence that the BJP-led NDA would receive a strong mandate in the elections. In Mau district’s Ghosi, Modi campaigned for NDA partner SBSP’s Arvind Rajbhar (Ghosi) and BJP’s Neeraj Shekhar (Ballia) and Ravindra Kushwaha (Salempur). He sought support for BJP’s Kamlesh Paswan (Bansgaon) and Shashank Mani Tripathi (Deoria) in Deoria, and for NDA partner Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel (Mirzapur) and Rinki Kol (Robertsganj) in Mirzapur district.