Amit Shah assures passage of OBC bill in Parliament

BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday assured Other Backward Classes that the Narendra Modi government would ensure passage of the OBC Bill in Parliament despite Congress' opposition to it.

"How much ever the Congress tries to oppose or create an obstacle, the Narendra Modi government at the Centre will pass the OBC Bill in both houses of Parliament.This is our decision and we will see to it that the community gets justice," he said addressing an Other Backward Classes convention here.

Shah said the Congress had created an obstacle in passing the bill in the Rajya Sabha, demanding induction of an OBC representative in the Commission.

He said the Modi government, which believes in the welfare of all communities, had done enough for OBCs.

"We have brought several schemes for all communities, including OBCs. Schemes such as Mudra Bank, Ujwal, Saubhagya and Pradhan Mantri Yojana,among others, have been implemented.

These schemes have reached the beneficiaries," he said.

Under the Mudra scheme, about 50 lakh OBC youth had availed loans of the total of nearly one crore people who had availed of it, he said.

Also, as many as one lakh poor OBC women have been provided gas connections, he added.

Apparently referring to the Siddaramaiah government's move on grant of religious minority tag for the Lingayat community, Shah alleged that Congress was adopting the divide and rule policy of the British and creating a wedge between communities.

On the other hand, the Modi government has been working for the welfare of all communities, including OBCs, with its development agenda of 'Sabka-Saath-Sabka-Vikas,' he said.

In a move weeks before the May 12 assembly polls, the state cabinet recently decided to recommend to the Centre to grant religious minority tag to the politically powerful Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats.

Shah also assured the people that the killers of RSS and BJP workers would be hunted down 'even from the abyss' and imprisoned.

"How much ever Congress makes an effort to protect the killers of RSS and BJP workers, the next government under

Yeddyurappa's stewardship will hunt them down even from the abyss and send them to jail," he said.

Shah was on the fifth round of his campaign in Karnataka, where the assembly polls are scheduled for May 12.

Kaginele in Haveri district in north Karnataka is the birth place of saint, philosopher, composer and social reformer Kanakadasa (1509 to 1609).