No Religion-Based Reservation as Long as BJP is in Power: J P Nadda

BJP President J P Nadda affirmed that there will be no religion-based reservation as long as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party are in power. He accused the opposition of planning religion-based reservation and emphasized PM Modi’s policy of development and inclusivity over 'divide and rule' politics.

BJP president J P Nadda on Monday said there will be no reservation based on religion as long as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party are in power.

Accusing the opposition of planning to give reservation based on religion, he said, ''It is clearly written in the Constitution that there will be no religion-based reservation. ''As long as PM Modi and BJP are in power, there will be no such reservation,'' he told reporters. He was in the city to campaign for Modi who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Varanasi for the third time.

''We will not allow anyone to encroach on the reservation of our Dalit, tribal, backward and extremely backward classes. You will see what will happen to the opposition on June 4 (the vote counting day),'' Nadda said while talking to reporters in Varanasi.

Addressing an intellectuals' meeting here, he said, ''For a long time politics meant 'divide and rule' but now the 'politics of development' is going on.'' ''What was the political situation 10 years ago,'' Nadda asked and said, India was being counted among the corrupt countries but the biggest problem was that the common man had become indifferent towards politics and his faith had been broken. ''This becomes a threat to democracy but in the last 10 years, PM Modi created trust among the common man about the country's development,'' the BJP chief said.

Earlier, the opposition spreading casteism used 'divide and rule' policy to create divisions on the basis of religion and region, he said. ''Prime Minister Modi has also given a jolt to this culture. Today, a politics of development is going on and in this, 'sabka saath sabka prayas aur sabke vishwas' (everyone's support, effort and trust) is the basis.'' He said, ''On June 1, when you all vote to the BJP, the foundation of development India will be laid.'' Be it BRICS, G-7 or G-20, no international forum is left where India was not represented. Now, we are special invitees in places where we were not members earlier,'' he said.

Within just nine months, two Covid vaccines were made in the country. During the pandemic, double dose of vaccine was given by the government and after that 140 crore people were protected by giving booster doses, he said.

Nadda said, "When former PM Manmohan Singh used to go to Washington, he used to talk about terrorists saying we have threats from terrorists and Pakistan. PM Modi said that there is no threat. We know how to manage-surgical strikes, air strikes, we will enter their territory and kill.'' The BJP President also talked about the benefits people are getting from various Central government schemes, including Ayushman Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Nadda reached Varanasi for PM Modi's election campaign and offered prayers at the Kaal Bhairav temple ''Whenever I come to Varanasi I pay obeisance to Kal Bhairav temple, Sankat Mochan and Kashi Vishwanath temple. As we all know Kashi is a religious city and the city which takes forward Sanatan Dharma, I get new energy from here,'' he said.

Varanasi, where PM Modi is in the fray, will be going to the polls on June 1.

Congress has fielded its state president Ajay Rai from the seat.

''I have prayed for the well-being of the society, peace and happiness and to give strength to the development works initiated in the Narendra Modi government. Modi will become PM for the third time with '400 paar' seats,'' he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)