Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota will not affect
existing reservation
Madurai
(TN), Jan 27 (PTI) Virtually sounding the Lok Sabha poll bugle
in Tamil
Nadu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday hit out at critics of
the 10
per cent quota for the economically weaker sections.
A few in the
state were creating an "atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust"
for
'selfish' interests, he said addressing a well-attended BJP
rally here.
He
took a swipe at the proposed grand alliance of opposition
parties,
saying they had set aside their 'differences' to "remove this
watchman"
in the forthcoming Parliamentary elections.
The government was
taking effective steps to rid the country of corruption and
nepotism, he
said, while assuring firm action against economic offenders,
even if
put up abroad.
The Centre's 10 per cent quota for the Economically
Weaker Sections (EWS) in the general category in education and
government jobs will not impact the existing reservation
benefits for
Dalits, Tribals and OBCs, Modi said.
The EWS quota had been earmarked with the 'spirit' of providing
opportunities to all in education and employment.
"This
decision has been taken in such a way that it doesn't impact
Dalits,
tribals and OBCs who are already availing the benefits of
reservation,"
he added.
"It is unfortunate that an atmosphere of suspicion and
mistrust is being created by a few people in Tamil Nadu to serve
their
own selfish interest. I urge all of you to be vigilant and
against such
negativity," he said.
Opposition DMK and some other parties in the
state have opposed the 10 per cent quota, saying social
backwardness
alone should be the criterion for reservation.
The DMK has moved the Madras High Court challenging the
Constitution amendment providing for the EWS quota.
Modi
further said any political thought which opposes the poor
cannot
benefit anyone, adding opportunities for all cannot be
guaranteed as
long as there were artificial concepts of high and low or ours
and
theirs.
Further, the union government was taking effective steps to rid
the country of corruption and nepotism, he said.
"Any
person who has cheated or looted the country shall be brought
to
justice. This is regardless of whether he is in India or
abroad," he
said, in an apparent reference to economic offenders Vijay
Mallya, Nirav
Modi and Mehul Choksi, all of whom are staying abroad.
Modi said
the Centre's effort against corruption has created a "stir from
Chennai
to Delhi," and that all those who were "used to making bills in
government contracts, "different bills, and welfare schemes, are
now
facing the music."
That was why they were all coming together, he
said in an apparent reference to a proposed grand alliance of
major
opposition parties, including the Congress and DMK.
"They say that
keeping aside all other considerations they must unite to
remove this
watchman. However big a group they form, out of fear and
negativity,
Narendra Modi will stand firmly with the poor," he said.
"And I call upon the people of Madurai and the youth of Tamil
Nadu to reject these forces of negativity," he said.
Modi,
who started his address by extending salutations in Tamil,
hailed
Madurai for being a seat of the ancient Tamil Sangam, and a
pilgrimage
city. He also paid tributes to the late Chief Minister J
Jayalalithaa on
the occasion.
Modi, who earlier laid the foundation stone for the
All India Institute of Medical Sciences at nearby Thoppur, said
it the
hospital would be "ready soon."
Work was on to establish one
medical college in every three Lok Sabha constituencies which
was being
done with the objectives of improving medical services and
providing
avenues of education and employment to the youth, he said.
Besides
direct intervention in health care, the Centre was also focused
on
preventive health care and the Swachh Bharat initiative has
become a
people's movement with marked increase in rural sanitation, he
said.
Nine crore toilets have been built in the last four years, with
47 lakh of them in Tamil Nadu, he said.
The
government was working to improve the ease of living for the
poor and
middle class, Modi said while highlighting the increased focus
on
connectivity including highways and airways.
The speed of building
highways and laying railway lines has doubled, he said, adding
projects
pending for years have been expedited.
The government has started
work on a Rs 2,100 crore project to link the holy island of
Rameswaram
and Pamban in the state, while a new a Pamban bridge is being
constructed to facilitate people in the region, he informed.
Madurai
and Chennai will be now connected through the 'ultramodern'
Tejas train
while the country's fastest Train 18 will in times to come
provide high
speed connectivity across the country, he said.
Developed at the
Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Train 18's
largescale
production will create jobs for Tamil Nadu youth, the Prime
Minister
said, adding several other countries have also evinced interest
in it.
On
the Devendra Kula Velalar community's demand to be scrapped
from the
Scheduled Castes list, Modi said he was "fully sensitive" about
it.
A
'significant' progress has been made on the matter, he said and
assured
'justice' to the community, which wants to be included in the
OBC list.
