Fact Check: Did Amit Shah Say BJP Will Scrap Reservation For OBCs?

After the second phase of voting of the seven-phase 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a video of home minister Amit Shah stating that the BJP government will scrap the ‘unconstitutional reservation’ of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) is making the rounds on social media.

“Before casting your vote, listen to this statement of Home Minister Amit Shah where he is asking to end reservation, that is why 400 seats are being demanded so that the constitution can be changed,” wrote an X user who shared the video.

Several X handles shared the video amplifying the claim. 

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim was false as the video was edited. In the original video, Shah talks about scraping the ‘unconstitutional reservation of Muslims if voted to power in Telangana.’

We noticed the video carried the logo of V6 News. Taking this cue, we looked for the video on the V6 News Telugu YouTube channel and found a video published on April 23, 3023, titled ‘Union Minister Amit Shah Comments Muslim Reservations.’

The viral clip appears in the video at the 2:38-minute timestamp. “If the BJP government is formed, we will scrap the unconstitutional Muslim reservation. The SC, ST and OBC communities of Telangana deserve this opportunity and they will be awarded the same by ending the Muslim reservation.”

NDTV published the video on April 24, 2023, titled ‘Amit Shah Vows To Scrap Muslim Quota in Telangana.’

According to the channel, Shah while addressing the rally at Chevella near Hyderabad, slammed religion-based reservations, calling them ‘unconstitutional’. He had vowed to end the reservations for Muslims in Telangana if the BJP formed the government in the state.

On April 24, 2023, Times Now also reported that Shah has promised to end the 4 per cent Muslim reservation in Telangana if BJP is voted into power. He had said religion-based quotas go against the Constitution.

Hence, we conclude that the viral clip of Shah is old and has been edited. The claim that he called for scraping SC, ST and OBC reservation quotas is false.

(This story was originally published by NewsMeter, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective.)