PM Narendra Modi reveals why he wants ‘400-paar’ seats in Lok Sabha polls 2024: ‘….Babri lock on Ayodhya Ram temple’

In an all-out attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA is seeking 400-plus seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 so that it could prevent the grand-old party from bringing back Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and putting a “Babri lock” on the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Addressing an election rally in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, PM Narendra Modi also criticised the Congress for diminishing the contributions of Babasaheb Ambedkar, alleging that the opposition party has begun to assert his minimal involvement in drafting the Constitution. Follow live updates on Lok Sabha elections 2024

"The truth is that the Congress parivar deeply hates Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Modi said at the rally, adding that the Congress was spreading rumours that if he gets 400 Lok Sabha seats, he will change the Constitution.

"It is important for the people of the country to know that the BJP-led NDA already has 400-plus seats in Parliament. We used this number to scrap Article 370 (which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir)," Modi said.

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“Modi wants 400 seats so that the Congress won’t bring back Article 370 to spoil the game, Modi wants 400 seats so that the Congress won’t put a Babri lock on the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” he said. The PM said that about 14 days back, he challenged the Congress to give in writing to the 140 crore people of the country that it will not give reservation on the basis of religion," news agency PTI quoted the prime minister as saying.

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"Secondly, I asked them to give in writing that they will never snatch the reservation being given to the SCs, STs and OBC and thirdly, to give in writing that they will never give reservation to Muslims by committing a dacoity from the existing OBC quota, but they are not responding and sitting silently by putting a lock on their mouths,” Modi added.

PM Modi slams Congress 'dacoity'

Modi also said he wants 400 seats in the Lok Sabha to prevent the Congress from “dacoity” of the OBC quota to benefit its vote bank.

“We have also used these 400-plus seats to extend SC/ST quota for 10 years, appoint a tribal woman as the country’s President for the first time and to provide reservation to women,” Modi said.

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The PM said he is asking for 400 seats so that he can stop every conspiracy of the Congress and the opposition INDIA alliance.

"Modi is asking for 400 seats so that the Congress does not hand over the country's vacant land and islands to other countries, it does not take away the reservation given to SCs/STs/OBCs and give it to its vote bank, and does not declare all castes of its vote bank as OBC overnight," he said.

PM Modi on first three phases of voting

Modi said in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, the opposition was defeated, in the second phase, it was destroyed and today, whatever is left of the opposition in the third phase will also collapse.

The BJP has fielded Savitri Thakur from Dhar and Anita Nagar Singh Chauhan from neighbouring Ratlam-Jhabua (ST) seat, where polling will be held in the fourth phase on May 13.

(With inputs from PTI)