Union minister Anupriya Patel accuses previous Cong regimes of doing little for SC, ST, OBC categories

New Delhi: Union minister Anupriya Patel on Tuesday accused the previous Congress governments of not doing enough for the upliftment of people belonging to SC, ST, and OBC categories, and claimed that it was the Modi government that took firm action to provide them social justice.

Participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the president's address in Lok Sabha, the Apna Dal (Soneylal) MP also said it is only during the NDA regime led by Narendra Modi that we saw the president, prime minister and the CAG belonging to the backward sections of the society.

On Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's claim that no officials from the SC, ST or OBC categories were present during the customary pre-Budget 'Halwa' ceremony, Patel said people belonging to socially backward communities did not get enough opportunities post-Independence under the Congress rule, as they remained entangled in meeting their basic needs.

"It was the Modi government that freed these people from the entanglement of 'Roti, Kapda, Makan', provided them opportunity to prosper, and gave them increased employment opportunities," Patel, who represents Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, said.

The Union minister of state for health and family welfare also challenged the Congress members to list out the works they did for the SC, ST and OBC communities.

Participating in the debate, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP NK Premachandran claimed the president's address lacked direction and made "untenable claims" on the government's performance in the past 10 years.

The government's move to implement the 'One Nation, One Election' policy is against the principle of federalism and Constitution, the RSP MP from Kerala's Kollam said.

Premachandran also said that social harmony is facing challenges in the country, and asked the government to foster unity in diversity.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Vijay Kumar Hansdak accused the Centre of hiding the real toll of the pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj on January 29.

While the Uttar Pradesh government has put the figures at 30 dead and 60 injured, the opposition parties are claiming the toll to be higher.

Hanuman Beniwal of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) also asked the government to reveal the "actual" figures and order an inquiry to fix responsibility.