'Will Not Tinker With Current Quota System': Amit Shah Corners Congress On Reservation

Amit Shah said that the Congress should remember that it lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the number of seats the BJP won was more than what the opposition party could not win in the last three elections -- 2014, 2019 and 2024.

(Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the Modi government is firm that there will be no tinkering with the current reservation system in the country as he accused the Congress of reducing the quota for SCs, STs and OBCs by giving it to Muslims.

Speaking at the 'Agenda Aaj Tak 2024' event here, he ridiculed Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and said that he has turned "arrogant" after the Congress was defeated in the Lok Sabha polls. "The opposition claimed we will change the Constitution. We have not touched reservation. The Congress granted reservation to Muslims and reduced it for SCs, STs and OBCs. We have said clearly that we will not tinker with the current system of reservation," Shah said.

He said the Congress should remember that it lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the number of seats the BJP won was more than what the opposition party could not win in the last three elections -- 2014, 2019 and 2024.

The home minister asserted that there is no difference between the present Modi government with 240 seats and the one which had 303 as it is still firm on what it had vowed to implement -- One Nation One Election, amending the "unconstitutional" Waqf Act, strengthening national security and making India the third largest economy in the world.

Asked about the allegations against the Adani Group in the indictment in a US court and charges against the Modi government over its links with the business house, Shah said he was surprised to see that the Congress and its leaders like Rahul Gandhi were "taking inspiration" from foreign institutions.

"No government can work on media reports... we will see when we get documents in this regard (US indictment)....," he said. The senior BJP leader said corruption is not his party's culture but the previous UPA era is known for scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore. "Why don't they go to court if they have evidence? What happened to the charges made in the Pegasus case? If there is any truth to these allegations, then courts are there. No one has given any evidence against the Modi government till now," he said.

On the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said more than 2 crore tourists visited the union territory in the last one year, cinema halls opened after three decades, Tazia procession was taken out peacefully there and recent elections were held without bloodshed.

These, he said, show that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is better after the abrogation of Article 370. Shah also thanked the voters of Maharashtra for the victory of the Mayahuti alliance in the recent assembly polls. The state is "now in safe hands", he said.

He dismissed suggestions that Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Ekanth Shinde was upset over power sharing in the state. There is no reason for him to get upset, the minister added.

Shah said he was committed to the target of freeing India from Left Wing Extremism (LWE) by March 2026. Many states are now free from the menace and two districts in Chhattisgarh remain the last bastions of Naxals, he said.

"We have finished 70 per cent Naxal strength in Chhattisgarh too... more than 300 ultras have been killed and 900 arrested since the BJP government assumed charge (in Chhattisgarh). We are committed to ending the Maoist menace by 2026. Security along with development of tribals is our watchword," he said.

Shah expressed his disappointment over the disruptions in the ongoing winter session of Parliament and said, "The opposition has decided that it will not allow the House to function." He said the government is ready to discuss each issue on the floor of the House and has nothing to hide on any subject.

Speaking about 'One Nation, One Election', a bill on which is expected to be introduced in Parliament next week, Shah said there is no merit in the opposition's claims that it will end federalism in the country.

It has been seen in the past that "when Lok Sabha and assembly polls were held together, the results came out different (in favour of different parties). The 'ghamandiya' alliance (INDIA bloc) has decided to boycott it", he said.

The home minister said such a move will save a lot of money that can be used for development and welfare work, allow security forces to concentrate on their core job and ensure that primary school teachers, who are majorly deployed during elections, continue with their job of teaching children apart from many other positives.

On the current situation in Manipur, which has been roiled by ethnic strife since May last year, Shah said, "I am assured that the violence will end and the situation in Manipur will be resolved." Asked about illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, he said only 4 per cent of the total 4,096 km of the border with the neighbouring country remains unfenced due to riverine areas, thick jungles and undulating land.

He said he has written to governments of states under which this 4 per cent area falls and sought enhanced vigil to check those getting enrolled for welfare schemes using government-issued IDs.

"Unfortunately, some state governments consider illegal infiltrators as vote bank. I have never seen such lowly politics in my life," Shah said. On the latest farmers' protest, the minister defended his government's policies for farmers and said, "The farmers of the country are satisfied but some have brought forward some issues... we will talk to them as per the recent directions of the Supreme Court."

Shah further stressed that once the three new criminal laws brought by the Modi government are "completely implemented" in the country, it will be the "world's most modern criminal justice system".

Targeting opposition parties, he said a "canard" is being spread by some parties that mass deletions of voters' names from electoral rolls were being orchestrated in poll-bound states. "There is a stipulated procedure for this... the EC sends a notice 11 days before such a deletion. It is all a canard being spread by some parties," he said.