Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the Congress divided the country on the basis of religion, and now wants 15 per cent of national budgets spent on Muslims, along with reservations on the basis of religion against the provisions of the Constitution.

Addressing a BJP election rally in Dindori, Maharashtra, he recalled that the Congress party some years ago had proposed 15 per cent of budgets spent on the minorities; meaning division of the Budgets on the basis of religion. The party is reviving its old agenda and wants to implement it also, he said.

“You can imagine, how dangerous can be the break-up of the budgets in this fashion, and you know for the Congress, there is only one minority, its own favourite vote bank. I was chief minister then and had opposed it strongly,” he said.

The proposal could not succeed because of strong opposition from the BJP, he said. The Congress has been keen on reservation on the basis of religion, although it was opposed by Babasaheb Ambedkar.

The Congress says it will snatch reservation share of the SCs, STs, OBCs, and general poor and give it to the Muslims, its vote bank, the Prime Minister said. He said, “The Congress will grab your property and give a share to its vote bank.”

“But the Congress and the INDI Aghadi should listen carefully, Modi will neither allow division of the budgets on the basis of religion nor reservation on the basis of religion. Modi is chowkidar of rights of deprived sections,” he said.

He said Modi is giving free ration to the poor, pucca houses, electricity, water supply in every home, and Ujjwala gas connections. “We have not discriminated on the basis of religion, nor made inquiries about it. The schemes are meant for all and they benefit all,” he said.

The prime minister said, “This election is not just to elect MPs, but to select a PM, a PM who can take strong decisions to make India strong.”

Mr Modi said he had come to the Maharashtra town after filing his nomination papers in Varanasi on Tuesday. “You have seen my work in the last 10 years, I have come today to seek your blessings for my third term in office, to make India Viksit Bharat,” he said.

The prime minister said, “How big a victory the NDA is going to have in this election is clear from the talk of a senior INDI alliance leader here. He knows the main party of the INDI alliance, the Congress is losing in such a bad way that it may not be able to get the status of a recognised Opposition party in the Lok Sabha.”

Without naming NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar, he said this is why the INDI alliance leader in Maharashtra has suggested to small parties to merge with the Congress after elections and close their shutters. “If all these shops merge in the Congress shop,” he said, “the emerging party may get the status of a recognised Opposition party. This is the situation now.”

He further said the merger of the Uddhav Thackeray-led “fake” Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar-led “fake” NCP in the Congress is certain. “I will remember Balasaheb Thackeray when fake Shiv Sena merges with the Congress because he used to say that when it appears Shiv Sena has become Congress, he will close Shiv Sena. The fake Shiv Sena is going to disappear soon,” Mr Modi said

He said the “nakli” (fake) Shiv Sena has destroyed all dreams of Balasaheb. He dreamt of a magnificent Ram temple in Ayodhya, and the end of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The Article has gone but this has irritated the nakli Shiv Sena the most. The Congress rejected the Pran Pratishtha invitation to the temple and the nakli Shiv Sena followed it.

The Congress is making unnecessary talk about the Ram temple and the fake Shiv Sena is totally silent, he said. “Their partnership is a partnership of sin, and their sin is exposed before the whole of Maharashtra,” the prime minister said. The fake Shiv Sena is giving undue respect to the Congress which abuses Vir Savarkar day and night, he said.

The self-respecting and patriotic people of Maharashtra are very angry at these developments, but the fake Shiv Sena is so arrogant that it does not care for the sentiments of the Maharashtra people. This fake Shiv Sena which is bending before the Congress is going to be punished in the elections, and has been rejected in all four rounds of polling so far, he said.