Nehru was against all forms of reservation: PM cites letter to chief ministers
NEW DELHI,FEB 7 : Asserting that the Congress was always against Dalits, backwards, tribals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said Jawaharlal Nehru did not favour reservation of any kind in jobs.
Replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in Rajya Sabha, Modi read out a letter by former PM Nehru to the then chief ministers.
“I am reading out its translation: ‘I dislike any kind of reservation, more particularly in services. I am strongly against anything which leads to inefficiency and second-rate standards’,” PM Modi said.
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“That is why I say that they are against it (reservation) by birth… Had the government recruited at that time and promoted them from time to time, they would have been here today,” the Prime Minister further said.
PM Modi was referring to a letter Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to chief ministers on June 27, 1961, emphasising the need for empowering backward groups by giving them access to good education, and not by reserving jobs based on caste.
PM Modi also said the Congress, which never gave complete reservation to OBCs, should not preach social justice.
“The Congress, which never gave complete reservation to OBCs, never gave reservation to the poor of the general category, which did not consider Baba Saheb worthy of Bharat Ratna, kept giving Bharat Ratna only to its family. They are now preaching and teaching us the lesson of social justice. Those who have no guarantee as a leader are raising questions about Modi’s guarantee,” PM Modi said.
This is the second time in three days that PM Modi has invoked Nehru to attack the Congress.
On Monday, while speaking in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi said Jawaharlal Nehru thought Indians to be lazy and have less intelligence compared to their American and Chinese counterparts.
“Let me read what Prime Minister Nehru had said from the Red Fort. ‘Indians generally do not have the habit of working very hard, we do not work as much as the people of Europe or Japan or China or Russia or America’,” PM Modi had said.
PM Modi also said Indira Gandhi’s thinking was also no different and mentioned the former PM’s remark that Indians run away from difficulties.
-PTI
