In an all-out attack on the Congress for its stand against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the Congress has only appeased Muslim fundamentalists and its opposition to the new law proves this. He also questioned why the Congress does not name a Muslim president and reserve 50 per cent of its election tickets for Muslim candidates.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Hisar airport in Haryana. He said the airport will be a significant milestone in the state’s development journey. Remembering BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, Dalit icon and the Constitution’s architect, the Prime Minister said Dr Ambedkar’s struggle inspires his government. “Every decision and policy is dedicated to Babasahed Ambedkar,” he said.
Targeting the Congress, he said the Opposition party made the Constitution a tool for gaining power. “During the Emergency, the spirit of the Constitution was killed to retain power. The Constitution talks about a secular civil code, but Congress never implemented it. Today, a uniform civil code has been implemented in Uttarakhand. Unfortunately, the Congress is opposing this. Congress never bothered to check if the benefits of reservation reached SC/ST and OBC communities,” the Prime Minister said.
“We must never forget what the Congress did to Babasaheb Ambedkar. While he was alive, the party insulted him repeatedly. They made him lose elections twice. Congress wanted to uproot him; they conspired to keep him out of the system. After his death, they even tried to erase his memory. Babasaheb stood for equality, but Congress spread the virus of vote-bank politics throughout the country,” he said.
The Prime Minister said BR Ambedkar had ruled out reservation on religious grounds. “Congress’s appeasement politics has harmed the Muslims too. Congress has only made some fundamentalists happy. The rest of the society remained uneducated and poor. The biggest proof of this wrong approach is in the Waqf law,” he said.
The Congress made arbitrary changes in the Waqf law for political mileage and the changes turned the Constitution on its head, the Prime Minister said. “I want to ask these vote-bank hungry leaders, if you care about the Muslims, why doesn’t Congress make a Muslim its party president. Give 50 per cent tickets in Lok Sabha election to Muslims. If they win, they would put forward their views. But no, they won’t give (Muslims) anything in the Congress. They will snatch the rights of citizens. Their intention was never to do anything good for anyone,” he said.
The Prime Minister said lakhs of hectares of land are Waqf property. “If Waqf properties had been used honestly, Muslim youths wouldn’t need to earn a livelihood from repairing bicycle punctures. But only a few land mafia benefited from these properties. This mafia was looting lands belonging to Dalit, backward sections and widows. The loot of the poor will stop after these changes to the Waqf law. Under the new Waqf law, land or property belonging to tribals cannot be touched by the Waqf Board. Poor Muslims and Pasmanda Muslims will get their rights. This is real social justice,” he said.
Hitting back at the Prime Minister, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said BR Ambedkar always stressed the importance of education. The government, he said, does not work on Dr Ambedkar’s vision, but makes tall claims. “They (BJP) only speak against Congress, Nehru ji and all we have done until now. But, I ask what have they done till now and which of Babasaheb’s principles have they adopted?” he asked.
Referring to the Women’s Reservation Act, which mandates 33 per cent reservation of women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, Mr Kharge said, When the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed 2 years ago, the Congress demanded that it be implemented immediately. Our demand was that SC, ST and OBC women be given reservation in it. This is our objective. We have been fighting for this for a long time,” he said. “They (BJP) say we have insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar. Which party made Babasaheb Ambedkar a member of the Constituent Assembly and Chairman of the Drafting Committee?” the Congress chief asked.
