Union Minister and BJP candidate for the Chandauli Lok Sabha seat, Mahendra Nath Pandey, commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi while criticizing the Congress’s alleged promise of a nationwide wealth survey and redistribution. Pandey emphasized that the poor, farmers, women, and youth should have priority access to the nation’s resources.
Pandey’s remarks followed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s defiant statement after the Calcutta High Court invalidated all OBC certificates issued by her government since 2010. Banerjee vowed to continue OBC reservations and indicated her willingness to challenge the order in higher courts if necessary.
“Our leader, Prime Minister Modi, has said the poor, farmers, women, and youth should have the first rights on the country’s resources. The policies of the country must be framed accordingly and we are working towards that. They (Congress) did wrong by taking a share of the OBC quota and giving it to Muslims in Karnataka. We won’t let that happen again,” Pandey told ANI on Thursday.
Regarding CM Mamata’s stance after the high court’s decision, he added, “She is not getting votes anywhere which is why she is going around making statements that make little sense. However, people across the country are not with them (Opposition) and will vote for a strong and decisive government under PM Modi. We will deliver on our promise of going over 400 seats.”
Tripura OBC Morcha president Malina Debnath also criticized the ruling TMC in Bengal for including Muslims in the OBC category for electoral gain.
Debnath praised the Calcutta High Court’s decision, stating that the TMC government added Muslims to the OBC category without proper surveys to secure votes. “They (TMC government) added Muslims to the OBC category between 2010 and 2024. They did it without conducting a proper survey and gave them certificates, entitling them to the benefits of OBC reservation. This was done purely for the sake of votes. I welcome the high court verdict,” Debnath told ANI.
