Prime Minister Narendra Modi intensified his criticism of the Congress by sharing an old video of Rahul Gandhi, in which Gandhi appeared to support reservation for Muslims. PM Modi stated that the video revealed the “real face” of the Congress party.

Addressing a rally in Jhargram, West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised Congress by referring to an old video of Rahul Gandhi. In the video, purportedly 11 to 12 years old, Gandhi appears to openly support reservation for Muslims.

PM Modi asserted that this video exposes the “real face” and “true character” of the Congress party, which he claimed had been concealed from the nation for a long time.

PM Modi also shared the video on X, stating, "Their words and their promise are for everyone to hear. They want to deny rights to SC, ST, and OBC communities, preferring unconstitutional Muslim reservations instead. Modi will not let them trample over Pujya Babasaheb’s Constitution."

In the video, Rahul Gandhi criticises Mulayam Singh Yadav, founder of the INDIA bloc's ally Samajwadi Party (SP), for remaining silent on the issue of Muslim reservations despite having served as UP Chief Minister three times.

"Media asked him 2-3 times about the quota, only to be met with complete silence. Congress, on the other hand, openly speaks about reservations. Manmohan Singh says, yes, we will give reservations to Muslims, we will include them. And then Mulayam Singh gets up and says they would have done more if they had been in office. But you were in power thrice, why did you not do it?" Rahul Gandhi is seen saying in the video.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has used the old video of Rahul Gandhi to bolster his claim that the Congress aims to redistribute wealth and reservation benefits to Muslims. Modi has been asserting in his election rallies that the Congress intends to take reservation benefits away from SC, ST, and OBC communities, promising them instead to Muslims.

At a rally in Jhargram, PM Modi said, "The media kept questioning me, saying that their manifesto does not mention Muslim quotas. Now, I have brought evidence showing that Congress and its partners are communal, opposed to the faith-neutral Constitution, casteist, and nepotistic."

In an interview, the Prime Minister stated that he had never spoken against minorities and emphasised that the BJP had never taken action against them, not only currently but in the past as well. However, he firmly stated that he was not inclined to consider anyone as a "special citizen."

Image source: India Today