Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'poora Muslim quota' remark triggers row, PM Narendra Modi reacts

PM Modi claimed the Congress and its allies want to snatch away reservation benefits extended by the Constitution to members of the SC, ST and OBC communities.

Updated on: May 7, 2024, 16:58:56 IST

By HT News Desk

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RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's remark that Muslims must get 'poora' (complete) reservation triggered a political storm on Tuesday. Reacting to the remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the INDIA bloc leader, “who is out on bail in the fodder scam”, has revealed the Congress and its allies' intention to transfer the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes' quota to the country's largest minority community.

Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav being greeted by MLCs during their swearing-in ceremony, in Patna. (PTI)

"Congress is silent but today one of its allies confirmed the intentions of the INDI alliance. Their leader, who is in jail in connection with the fodder scam and has been punished by the court...He has just come out on bail...He said that Muslims should get reservation and not just reservation, he says that Muslims should get ‘complete’ reservation. What does this mean?," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar today.

PM Modi claimed the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies want to snatch away reservation benefits extended by the Constitution to members of the SC, ST and OBC communities and give "complete reservation to Muslims".

PM Modi vowed that as long he was alive, he wouldn't allow anyone to "erase India's identity" in the name of what he called "pseudo-secularism".

"Congress and INDI alliance people should listen -- as s long as Modi is alive, any attempt to erase the identity of India in the name of pseudo-secularism will not succeed," he said.

What Lalu Prasad Yadav said today

Lalu Prasad Yadav told ANI that Muslims must get 'poora reservation'.

"Reservation toh milna chahiye Musalmano ko, poora," he said.

The former Bihar chief minister's remark came a day after BJP leader Amit Shah alleged that the Congress gave reservation to Muslims by reducing the quota for SCs, STs and OBCs in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

BJP reacts to Lalu Yadav's remark

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said PM Modi's apprehension about the reservation turned out to be true.

"The apprehensions expressed by BJP and PM Modi are now proving to be completely true. The genie of Muslim reservation has come out of the lamp of the INDI alliance and is visible in the sky from the South to the plains of Ganga. The thing worth noticing in the statement given by Lalu Prasad Yadav is that he said 'yes Muslims should get reservation, poora ka poora'. It has become clear that they want to give reservation to the Muslim community by snatching the share of SC, ST and OBC communities," he added.

With inputs from ANI

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HT News Desk
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