Mahendragarh, Jul 16 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Congress snatched the reservation from backward classes in Karnataka and gave it to the Muslims.
“If Congress forms the government, they will do the same in Haryana too,” Amit Shah said while addressing the state-level Backward Classes Samman Sammelan in poll-bound Haryana.
He said the Congress has always been against the backward classes. “In 1957, the Kaka Kalelkar Commission was formed for OBC reservation, but the Congress did not implement it for years. In 1980, Indira Gandhi shelved the Mandal Commission. When it was introduced in 1990, Rajiv Gandhi opposed OBC reservation by giving a speech for two hours and 43 minutes.”
He said in 2014 after becoming Prime Minister Modi had told the whole country that his government is the government of Dalits, poor and backward people.
“The BJP has done the work of giving the country its first empowered backward-class Prime Minister. By giving 27 out of 71 ministers from the backward class, Narendra Modi ji has done the work of honouring the OBCs of Haryana and the country,” Amit Shah said.
The Home Minister listed the work done by the Prime Minister for the OBC community and said that he ensured reservations for them in various educational institutions.
“I want to assure you that we will not allow Muslim reservation in Haryana,” he said.
Challenging Congress leader and two-time chief minister Bhupinder Hooda, he said, “I have brought the account of every penny, come to the field with the data.”
Ahead of the Assembly election, likely slated in October, the BJP, which is contesting the polls alone, is eyeing to woo backward classes that account for 27 per cent of the state’s population.
This was the second visit of Amit Shah in less than three weeks to the state where the BJP has been in power since October 2014.
Earlier, the Home Minister was received by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and his Cabinet colleagues.
“The land of Haryana is known across the country for few things -- mothers here have sent their sons to the Army; in sports, medals come for India but when we look closely, every seven out of 10 medals are bagged by the youth of Haryana...”
Patting the back of Saini’s government, he said that the Cabinet has taken three decisions.
“First, increasing the creamy layer income limit from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. Second, the decision has been taken to change the reservation in panchayats. Eight per cent reservation was allocated for Group-A in panchayats, now five per cent reservation for Group-D will also begin from today… third, the municipal corporations’ five per cent reservation for Group B will begin and the eight per cent reservation will remain as it is.”
Without mincing words, he said the BJP would form the government in Haryana with a complete majority.