Election is for electing strong, stable govt, not for re-electing 'demagogue': Cong slams PM
New Delhi (PTI): Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his pitch for electing a strong and stable government, the Congress on Monday said this Lok Sabha election is for electing a strong and stable government, not for re-electing a "demagogue".
The opposition party also said that Prime Minister Modi's remarks were a sign of nervousness and expressed confidence that INDIA bloc will get a clear and convincing mandate in the polls.
Prime Minister Modi on Sunday made a pitch for electing a strong and stable government in an uncertain world beset by geopolitical tensions as the BJP released its manifesto.
Asked about the prime minister's remarks, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "This election is for electing strong and stable government, not for re-electing a demagogue. Strong and stable governments come from policies and programmes that address the concerns of the people."
"A prime minister who has nothing to say on farmers' issues, nothing to say on issues of unemployment and inflation, a prime minister who will refuse to talk about issues relating to workers, who refuses to talk on issues of social justice, social empowerment is making a pitch for a strong government, a capable government ... (in)his words. But the question is, strong and capable for what?" he said.
"That’s the real question and I think from our Nyay Patra and from the BJP's Modifesto, it’s very clear who has the agenda for addressing the concerns of the people," Ramesh said.
"So, we are going to the people. Our campaign is based on an agenda that addresses the concerns of women, youth, farmers, workers the disadvantaged and deprived sections of our society and that's a positive agenda. And we are confident that we will get a clear convincing, absolutely beyond doubt, a majority," he said.
"These words were also used I recall in 2004 and the people saw through that game, I think people have seen through this game. This is… these are all signs of a desperate and a nervous prime minister," Ramesh said.
Asked about the party's strategy in the polls, the Congress leader said there is not one thing but many things because India is a diverse country.
"What works in the south may not necessarily work in the north, north-east. So, we have a national campaign, but we also have to be sensitive to what the regional, and local issues are," Ramesh said.
"But most fundamentally this election is about saving democracy, it’s about saving our Constitution," he added.
The Congress leader said it is about saving constitutional provisions relating to secularism, relating to social justice, relating to special provisions for regions like the North-East.
"I mean that’s the fundamental issue in this election, it is the preservation of democracy, that India as we have known, India to be. The preservation of our Constitution and the values and its provisions and of course it’s about addressing the concerns of farmers, workers, youth, women, disadvantage sections of society," Ramesh said.
"We are hopeful that the people of India in a very silent way are going to give resounding verdict on the 4th of June, in favour of the Congress Party and its allies who Constitute the INDIA group," he added.
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Karnataka issues order on internal quota within SC reservation; 56,432 recruitments to proceed
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued an order implementing internal reservation within the 15 per cent quota earmarked for Scheduled Castes in appointments and admissions.
As per the order, 5.25 per cent reservation has been allocated to Left-hand communities under Category-A, 5.25 per cent to Right-hand communities under Category-B, and 4.50 per cent to other touchable Scheduled Caste communities under Category-C.
The government said the decision follows the recent Cabinet meeting held in view of the interim order of the High Court. It was decided to temporarily adopt the 50 per cent overall reservation ceiling and continue recruitments subject to the final verdict of the court.
Accordingly, the 15 per cent SC reservation in recruitment and admissions will now be distributed among the three categories in the prescribed ratio.
The order further stated that 20 per cent of posts or seats available under Category-C must be reserved for 59 most backward castes within the Scheduled Castes. If eligible candidates from these 59 castes are not available, the vacancies or seats should be filled by candidates from other communities within Category-C.
For implementing the revised quota in recruitment, authorities have been directed to follow a 400-point roster system. Where fewer than three Scheduled Caste roster points are available in any cadre, the reserved posts should be treated as general SC category posts for appointment purposes.
The government has also directed departments to revise ongoing recruitment processes by incorporating internal reservation. Notifications already issued without such quota distribution are to be withdrawn and fresh revised notifications issued immediately.
The order added that if the court upholds the enhanced 24 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the additional 6 per cent posts should be treated as backlog vacancies and filled accordingly.
The government has instructed all recruiting authorities to take urgent steps to fill 56,432 posts already cleared by the Finance Department through direct recruitment.
