Modi woos Dalits in BJP rally for Tamil Nadu elections | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Modi woos Dalits in BJP rally for Tamil Nadu elections

Hindustan Times | By, Coimbatore
Mar 04, 2016 07:59 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday tried to placate Dalits by promising to continue with the government’s reservation policy as long as India remembered BR Ambedkar and accused political opponents of pitting the community against the BJP through propaganda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday tried to placate Dalits by promising to continue with the government’s reservation policy as long as India remembered BR Ambedkar and accused political opponents of pitting the community against the BJP through propaganda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi raises hands with Tamil Nadu BJP leaders at a public meeting in Coimbatore.(PTI Photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi raises hands with Tamil Nadu BJP leaders at a public meeting in Coimbatore.(PTI Photo)

His conciliatory remarks came at a rally in this Tamil Nadu industrial hub where he blew the BJP’s poll bugle for this year’s assembly elections. It was his first public meeting since assuming power at the Centre.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

“This government has taken many steps to honour the memory of Ambedkar, which has made many parties nervous,” Modi said. “Since they (opposition parties) felt their property (Dalit vote bank) was being appropriated by the BJP, they began spreading falsehoods that the Modi government was against Dalits and the downtrodden.”

Read | BJP banks on PM Modi’s rally in Coimbatore

The remarks also came in the backdrop of a raging debate over Dalit marginalisation after the suicide of Rohith Vemula, a student-activist at the University of Hyderabad. There has been a buzz too that the Modi government wanted to end reservation of Dalits in jobs and education.

Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya, who is accused of pushing Vemula to suicide, was on the dais along with colleagues Prakash Javdekar and Pon Radhakrishnan.

He underscored the country’s position as the fastest-growing large economy in the world to an audience comprising mostly factory workers from one of India’s rapidly-expanding manufacturing centre.

“We want to create entrepreneurs who will generate jobs and not be job hunters,” he said.

Modi said his government has done good deeds day after day since coming to power in 2014. “If I start telling you all this, I will have to stay in Tamil Nadu for months together.”

But the Opposition was not allowing Parliament to run and was trying to block government’s efforts to improve the fate of the common man, he alleged. “This will not succeed,” he said during his 40-minute speech, translated into Tamil by senior state BJP leader H Raja.

Contrary to expectation, the Prime Minister did not touch upon state politics or Dravidian parties, unlike during a 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign rally at the same venue.

The country is on the right track, he said, reminding people of the sense of despair that ruled the country two years ago. “Now for the past one-and-a-half years, there is renewed hope among the people.”

Read | Modi to reach out to farmers as he fights ‘pro-rich’ tag for NDA

Unveiling Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Mukhtar Ansari Death News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    author-default-90x90

    KV Lakshmana is the Tamil Nadu bureau chief of Hindustan Times. He covers social, economic and political changes in the state and neighbourhood.

SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On