Blatant lie: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah reacts to PM Modi's Muslim quota claim

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reacted sharplyto Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that the Congress party tried to give reservation to Muslims by reducing the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (SC) reservations. In a post on X, Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah said late Wednesday (Apr24)that Prime Minister Modi's claim was a blatant lie.

"It stems from ignorance butis also indicative ofhis desperation born from thefear of defeat. No leader in the history of our country has ever demeaned the office of the Prime Minister to such a low level," Siddaramaiah said.

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"Being in a position of responsibility, Prime Minister Narendra Modi must either substantiate these irresponsible allegations with evidence or apologise to the nation," he added.

Modi must present proof, demands K'taka CM

Siddaramaiah raised a few questions for Modi. "Where has the Congress stated that it would take away reservations from backward classes and SC/STs to give them to Muslims? Which state government under the Congress has implemented such a policy?Is there any official government document related to this?," the Karnataka CMsaid anddemanded that the PMshouldpresent proof before the nation.

"Constitutional reservations cannot be arbitrarily amended.Revisions to reservations can only be madebased on reports from social and economic surveys. Moreover, state governments do not have the authority to modify reservations for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Such amendments require the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The fact that a Prime Minister lacks even this basic knowledge is truly tragic for our country," he added.

What did PM Modi say?

Addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Tonk on Tuesday (April 23), Prime Minister Modi accused the Congress party of attempting to provide reservations to Muslims in the state of Andhra Pradesh in 2004 by reducing SC and ST reservations, disregarding the Constitution, the news agency ANI reported.

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Modi said that the right to reservation was given by Babasaheb Ambedkar to Dalits, backward classes, and Adivasis, but theCongress and the INDIA bloc wanted to give it to Muslims based on religion.

"As soon as the Congress government came to power at the Centre in 2004, its first task was to try to give reservation to Muslims by reducing SC/ST reservations in Andhra Pradesh. Thiswas a pilot project that Congress wanted to try in the entire country," the prime minister said.

"Between 2004 and 2010, Congress tried four times to implement Muslim reservations in Andhra Pradesh. However, due to legal hurdles and the awareness of the Supreme Court, they could not fulfil this plan," he added.

'A hidden agenda of Congress...'

Meanwhile, BJP National President JP Nadda said that the hidden agenda of the Congress and INDIA bloc wasto snatch the rights of SC, ST and OBC and give it to Muslims.

"Congress says that Muslims have the first right on the country's resources, whereas Prime Minister Modi says that the poor have the first right on the resources. Congress hates SC, ST and OBC and appeasement is clearly visible in their manifesto too," Nadda said in a video statement on Friday.

(With inputs from agencies)