New Delhi: By highlighting the Congress party’s past actions and invoking the legacy of reservation systems, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a blistering attack on the Congress, accusing the grand old party of “hypocrisy and anti-reservation” sentiment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during an online interactive session with BJP workers, also cited the 1984 Congress advertisement, alleging that it reflected the party’s negative portrayal of marginalised communities. He accused Congress of suppressing voices advocating for the rights of these communities and pointed out that the party’s dominance began to wane after the rise of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision for social equality.
“Today, I came to know about an old Congress advertisement that was shared on social media. I was shocked by the content they used to publish during the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi. This particular advertisement depicted SCs, STs, and OBCs in a negative light, indicating that giving reservations to these communities would harm the country’s progress,” PM Modi said.
“For years, Congress suppressed voices advocating for the rights of marginalized communities. From the time of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi, members of the so-called ‘royal family’ of Congress were staunchly against reservations,” he added.
Citing a controversial 1984 election advertisement as evidence, BJP IT head Amit Malviya took to X (formerly Twitter) to share an image of the advertisement, which depicts a scene of a Hindu man getting cornered by a group of Muslim men, insinuating that if Congress comes to power, only Muslims will benefit from reservations.
The hypocrisy of Congress. In 1984, the Congress (I) then, sought vote against caste identity. It wanted to end reservations then and was putting forth bizarre arguments. But the same Congress now wants to divide India along caste lines, so that it can somehow crawl back to… pic.twitter.com/8idaX7djAO
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 11, 2024
“The hypocrisy of Congress. In 1984, Congress (I) then sought votes against caste identity. It wanted to end reservations then and was putting forth bizarre arguments. But the same Congress now wants to divide India along caste lines so that it can somehow crawl back to power,” Malviya said.
Malviya claimed that the advertisement reflects Congress’s long-standing opposition to reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). He further alleged that Rahul Gandhi, during his US visit, had spoken about scrapping reservations, solidifying the BJP’s claim of Congress’s “nefarious plans” to dismantle the system.
“In 1984, Congress was preparing to end reservations meant for the SC, ST and OBCs. This ad was one such attempt. It exposes their nefarious plans. Recently, during his US visit, Rahul Gandhi again spoke about scrapping reservations. Left to the Congress, there would be no reservations for the backwards. Muslims alone will corner all benefits. ” he added.
In 1984, Congress was preparing to end reservations meant for the SC, ST and OBCs. This ad was one such attempt. It exposes their nefarious plans. Recently, during his US visit, Rahul Gandhi again spoke about scrapping reservations. Left to the Congress, there would be no… pic.twitter.com/FzLLsvVoFG
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 11, 2024
The BJP’s attack comes in response to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent criticism of the BJP’s “Batenge toh katenge” (If divided, we will be wiped out) slogan, accusing the party of having “rotten thoughts”.
