New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a poll rally in West Bengal's Jhargram on Monday, referenced an old video featuring Rahul Gandhi, wherein the Congress leader made remarks about Muslim reservation. In the 12-year-old footage, Rahul Gandhi can be heard criticizing former Uttar Pradesh CM and Samajwadi Party (SP) founder, late Mulayam Singh Yadav for his silence on the issue of reservation. He also mentioned the Congress party's stance on providing reservations to Muslims.

What is Rahul Gandhi saying in the viral video? 

In the viral video, cited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Jhargram rally, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi can be seen saying in Hindi, “Mulayam Singh Yadav tinbar Mukhaymantri bane, ek bar bhi aarakshan ke bare me nahi bolen, presswalo ne puchha aap arakshan ke bare me kya sochaten hain? Sannata chha gaya.... jaisa abhi chhaya aise...do tin bar puchcha par...Bhayi Congress karti hai, Manmohan Singh ji khade hoten hain kahaten h bhaiya hum denge, 'musalman bhayion ko aarakshan' denge, shamil karenge inko, Mulayam Singh ji khade hokar kahaten hain bhaiya agar main hota to jayeda karta, magar aap then, tin bar fir, kiyon nahi kya?”

"Uttar Pradesh CM Mulayam Singh Yadav served as the chief minister three times, but he never spoke about reservation even once. When asked by the press about his views on reservation, there was silence. They asked him 2-3 times, still silence prevailed. Let me tell you, the Congress party does it differently. To the questions, Manmohan Singh replied, 'Brothers, we will give reservation to our Muslim brothers.'”

PM Modi underscores the seriousness of Rahul Gandhi’s remarks 

Reacting to the viral video, Prime Minister Modi emphasized its significance, highlighting Rahul Gandhi's statements regarding the Muslim reservation. He underscored the seriousness of the issue and urged media outlets to take note of the Congress leader's remarks. The Prime Minister pointed out that the video is over a decade old and sheds light on the Congress party's stance on reservations.

“Today, I saw a video of the Congress Shehzada on social media, this is a very serious matter, pay attention to what I am saying. Those media people who have been working to protect these hardcore sectarian individuals (Congress), should also listen. The video I saw is 11-12 years old. In the video, the Congress Shehzada is openly saying that the Congress party will provide reservations to Muslims.”

Modi slammed the INDI bloc over the issue of reservation and said they want to give reservations based on religion.

"Babasaheb Ambedkar was against providing reservations based on religion. But now, the INDIA bloc wants to give reservations based on religion. In Karnataka, they gave OBC reservations to Muslims, do you want to put an end to your reservations?" he asked.

Modi said although the Congress for more than half a century gave the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' (remove poverty), "but it was none but Modi only who made India the world's fifth largest economy, who pulled the country's 25 crore people out of poverty." The Prime Minister, who was scheduled to address a rally at Tamluk, did it virtually from Jhargram, as his chopper couldn't land due to poor weather.