Did PM Modi Say Maratha Community Snatched reservation from OBCs from Back Door?

A clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing an election rally is going viral with a claim that he said the Maratha community in Maharashtra snatched reservation from the OBC quota from back door. 

After activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s agitations and hunger strike, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council unanimously passed a bill on 20 February providing 10 percent reservation for the Maratha community in education and government jobs.

Fact Crescendo has received fact-check requests via our WhatsApp Tipline (9049053770) regarding this video clip.

We found that the viral clip edited and the claim going viral with it is false. In reality, PM Modi was not talking about Maratha reservation. 

WHAT’S THE CLAIM?

In the clip, PM Modi says, “Now tell me, do you approve of this type of game? You are okay with snatching the OBC reservation from the back door. Tell me whether it is okay or not. Do you accept such sin? Now they want to do the same thing in every state of the country. 

Original Post – Twitter 

In the viral clip, you can see that PM Modi was speaking at an election rally in Beed, Maharashtra. 

We found his full speech given in Beed on 7 May on BJP’s official YouTube channel.

From the 30:13 mark, PM Modi PM Modi takes a shot at the Congress-INDI alliance’s reservation policies. 

“INDI alliance says that they will snatch away this entire reservation from SC/ST/OBC and give it to Muslims,” he says. 

“Baba Saheb strongly opposed the notion that reservation could not be granted based on religion in India. However, the Congress party seeks to take away reservation from Dalits, tribals, and backward people and allocate it in the name of religion.”

PM Modi further gives an example of the Karnataka government.

“Today, I wish to give an example for my brothers and sisters in Beed and for the people of my country,” he says, 

“In Karnataka, where there is a Congress government, OBCs have been granted 27 percent reservation. Overnight, the government declared that all Muslims in Karnataka are also OBCs. Consequently, the OBC community’s entitlement to 27 percent reservation, as bestowed by Babasaheb Ambedkar and enshrined in the Constitution by the Parliament of India, was pilfered overnight.”

“They plundered and misappropriated what rightfully belonged to the OBCs, with a significant portion of the benefits now going to Muslims. Now, ask yourselves—do you accept such tactics? Are you in agreement with snatching away OBC reservation? You must decide whether this is acceptable or not. They are now attempting to replicate this strategy in every state across the country,” he says.

You can read his full speech here.

CONCLUSION

Hence, it is clear that PM Modi did not say the Maratha community snatched reservation from OBCs quota. In the original speech, he was talking about the OBC reservation benefits given to Muslim community in Karnataka. An edited clip has been shared with a false claim.

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