Congress hates OBCs as I’m a BC leading nation: Modi

Nanded: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that Congress hates OBCs as it cannot come to terms with the fact that a person from Backward Classes is at the helm of the country. Division among Dalits, Adivasis and Backward Classes suits Congress' politics, but due to their unity it is losing its support base, he said, speaking at a campaign rally here for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections and Nanded Lok Sabha by-poll.

"It suits the Congress' politics if Dalits, Adivasis and Backward Classes are divided. Its game plan is to divide you into different groups and communities,' he said. "Congress hates the OBCs because it cannot digest the fact that an OBC is the prime minister for ten years and working by taking everyone along,' Modi said. "They want to divide the OBC communities into small castes and snatch the power of their unity. If it happens, Congress will snatch the reservation," he alleged.

Efforts to divide people on caste lines and deprive them of reservation were made by leaders from Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi, he claimed. There is a wave in favour of the `Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, he claimed, adding that its goal is `Viksit Bharat'. "Hence, the BJP and its allies are chosen by the people again and again.

In the Lok Sabha elections, Nanded did not vote for us. I hope you will bless me now,' he said, referring to the defeat of the BJP's Pratap Chikhlikar by Congress' Vasant Chavan. In the Haryana elections, BJP created history by winning the highest number of seats, the prime minister said, adding that the people of Maharashtra were set to repeat the history. 'Wherever I have gone in Maharashtra in the last two months, I have this feeling that whatever couldn't be done in the Lok Sabha elections will be corrected in the assembly polls,' he said.

“Today, there is only one slogan on everyone's lips: BJP-Mahayuti ahe, tar gati ahe. Maharashtraachi pragati ahe (Only BJP-Mahayuti will ensure Maharashtra's speedy progress,” he added. BJP and its allies won 17 of 48 seats in Maharashtra in the general elections. Congress was the root cause of the troubles of farmers in Marathwada, but under the rule of the BJP and its allies several steps were taken to ease the problem of water-scarcity and drought, the PM said.

The Marathwada water grid scheme was started by the earlier BJP-led government but the Maha Vikas Aghadi regime stopped it, he claimed, adding that the Mahayuti government revived it. 'Farmers' interests are the most important priority, and they have been benefitting due to several welfare schemes and financial aid. In the last two years, Rs 80,000 crore-worth investment has come to Marathwada alone.

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor has given a new identity to Marathwada. The rail coach factory, logistics park, Shakti-peeth Expressway have opened new avenues of employment," Modi added. Women's empowerment was also a priority for the Mahayuti and the Union government, he said, as he listed women-centric development schemes such as PM Awas Yojana and schemes for toilets, water and electricity connections and LPG.