Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed election rallies in Maharashtra and said unless the marginalised were united, the Congress would take away their quotas.

“If you are not united, Congress will take away your reservations. The Congress royal family has always believed they were born to rule, which is why they never let Dalits, backward classes and tribals progress,” Modi said during his poll meetings in Chimur, Solapur and Pune.

He said reservations empower these communities, and “that’s why Congress despises them”. In the 1980s, the Congress even questioned these rights, the PM said.

He added: “Today, Congress still speaks the language of the powerful, vowing to end reservations for Dalits, backward classes and tribals. Stay alert against Congress and its allies.”