Monsoon Session of Parliament: Amit Shah lashes out at Congress over amendments in Backward Classes Bill

Rohtak: BJP chief Amit Shah on Thursday hit out at the Congress saying the changes forced by it in the bill to accord constitutional status to the commission for backward classes in Rajya Sabha, had exposed the “anti-backward mentality” of the opposition party. Accusing the Congress of creating “stumbling blocks” in the efforts towards the welfare of the country’s backward sections, he said the Modi government would get the Constitutional amendment bill on backward classes cleared and “now nobody can stop it.” Shah was referring to the proceedings in Rajya Sabha on 31 July, when a united opposition pushed some changes in the constitutional amendment bill on backward classes, leaving the ruling side red-faced. [caption id=“attachment_3708189” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of BJP President Amit Shah. AP[/caption] Addressing media in Rohtak, Shah said that the backward sections of the country had been demanding, since 1955, that the OBC Commission be given a constitutional status. “Never has any government in the past done anything in this direction,” said Shah. It was the Modi government which made efforts towards giving the commission constitutional status, said Shah. “Congress proposed such an amendment in the Rajya Sabha which if implemented, the whole Bill would get stuck in a legal tangle. Because of this, such an amendment cannot be accepted. “Despite the BJP saying to the opposition party that the amendments that had been proposed were not possible, the Congress deliberately stuck to it and the bill was scuttled,” claimed Shah. “What have they achieved?”, he asked adding that the backward sections would now have to wait for it for some more time. “Because of this incident, the anti-backward mentality of Congress has been exposed,” said Shah. He asserted that the welfare of backward people was not possible alone through mere talks. There need is to take concrete steps, he said. “If you cannot do this and somebody else was doing, you should have supported them. These things should be seen as above politics,” said Shah. Even as the Congress party creates many stumbling blocks, we must get this Bill cleared in both the Houses of Parliament and it will certainly become a law, nobody can stop it, he said. I want to tell the people of this country about how the Congress, which never did anything for backward classes, created hindrances when we tried to do something for them, he said. “The BJP and its government is committed towards this constitutional amendment bill and in the coming days, we shall try to pass it in both houses of the Parliament,” he emphasised.