PM says Congress, INDIA bloc conspiring to ‘steal’ quotas
Canada envoy summoned over slogans in public meet Narendra Modi accuses Congress of being ‘blinded’ by vote bank politics, dividing the nation along religious lines; he warns that these ‘forces’ are trying to do something big to disrupt harmony Cong. in M
The Ministry of External Aairs (MEA) on Monday summoned the Canadian Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a “strong protest” after pro-Khalistan slogans were raised at a public meeting attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
At the event attended by Mr. Trudeau, he was heard saying that the Canadian government will support right to religion of the Sikh community in his country without “discrimination”. The rally featured at least one poster that blamed the Indian leadership for the June 2023 murder of proKhalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was slain by unknown assassins in British Columbia.
“The Government of India’s deep concern and strong protest was conveyed at such disturbing actions being allowed to continue unchecked at the event,” said the MEA in a press release.
The message was delivered on the day a news report revealed the name of a R&AW o¨cer alleging his involvement in plotting the assassination of pro-Khalistan advocate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Launching a campaign blitz across western Maharashtra on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi provocatively accused the Opposition Congress and the INDIA bloc of hatching a conspiracy to aggravate social tensions. He also accused the Opposition of wanting to “steal” the reservation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to hand them over to Muslims in an act of political appeasement.
The thrust of Mr. Modi’s addresses in Solapur, Satara, and at the mega rally in Pune was that the Congress, “blinded” by vote bank politics, was reportedly dividing the country along religious lines. The PM launched broadsides on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, dubbing Mr. Gandhi’s ideas as “dangerous” while calling the 83year-old Mr. Pawar a “roving spirit” who was responsible for Maharashtra’s chronic political instability.
The PM felicitated by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
Alluding to the Congress and the INDIA bloc, he said: “Those people who cannot challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance head-on are now spreading fake videos on social media. By using Articial Intelligence, statements that we would never have imagined of are being spread through our fake voices... sometimes in my voice, sometimes in Amit Shah or J.P. Nadda’s voice, and sometimes in the voices of our Chief Ministers [NDA CMs]. These people are deliberately trying to
create a social conagration and are hatching a conspiracy to aggravate social tensions.”
Mr. Modi warned that in the coming days, these “forces” were trying to do “something big” in the country by way of disrupting social harmony. He requested the Election Commission to take stern action against those who were spreading such deepfake videos.
The PM lashed out at the Congress and Mr. Gandhi for reportedly attempting to snatch the reservation given to Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs in order to redirect them towards Muslims.
“You will be astonished with what the Congress is planning. The Constitution strictly forbids giving reservation along religious lines. After the SC rapped the Congress on this count, they have developed this ‘Karnataka model’ wherein overnight they took out a fatwa and made all Muslims into OBCs, snatching the latter’s 27% quota and leaving the OBCs in limbo,” he said, accusing the Congress of trying to tamper with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution and then deploy the tweaked Constitution across the country.
“But the Congress and INDIA bloc should beware that as long as Modi is alive, as long as the public’s blessings are with me, I will foil all your efforts at changing the Constitution in the name of religion,” Mr. Modi said.
In a blistering attack on Sharad Pawar, Mr. Modi said there were “some roving spirits” who keep upsetting not just the Opposition party but also cause disturbance within his party and his family.
In a major blow to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh before the third phase of polling, the party’s candidate from Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam, on Monday withdrew his nomination and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
After court diktat
The move, which gave the BJP candidate and sitting MP Shankar Lalwani a virtual walkover, comes just days after a local court issued directions to add Indian Penal Code Section 307 (attempt to murder) in a land dispute case from 2007 against Mr. Bam and his father.
The turn of events was slammed by the Congress as the Opposition party alleged that democracy in the country was “under threat”.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Bam, accompanied by BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola, went to the Returning Ofcer’s o¨ce to take back his nomination form. Monday was the last day to withdraw the nominations for the third phase. After joining the BJP, Mr. Bam said that he took the decision in the national interest and for Sanatana Dharma.