Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the Congress ignored the Other Backward Classes, which comprise the biggest chunk of the country's population, during its rule of several decades.

Addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Chanderi Assembly seat in Ashok Nagar in MP, where polls will be held on November 17, Shah said the Congress had put the Mandal Commission report in the cold storage.

"The Congress put it in cold storage for many years. (Former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi opposed the implementation of the Mandal Commission. The Backward Classes Commission was not given constitutional recognition for 70 years," Shah said.

"It was the Narendra Modi government that gave respect to this community by giving constitutional status to the OBC Commission. There are 27 OBC ministers in the Union government. The BJP-led Centre has given 27 pc (OBC) reservation in NEET exams, medical PG, Central and Navodaya schools. The BJP government also waived fees upto Rs 1 lakh of OBC students in the IITs," Shah said.

The BJP government also provided 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in petrol pumps and LPG gas dealerships, he added.

Under the Congress government of Digvijaya Singh (1993-2003), the budget for SC, ST and OBCs in Madhya Pradesh was Rs 1000 crore, which was increased by the BJP government to Rs 64,000 crore, he said.?

If elected to power, the Congress will stop the state government's 'Ladli Laxmi Yojana', he alleged.

Attacking MP Congress president Kamal Nath, who is the party's chief ministerial face, Shah said the former is associated with several scams.

-With PTI Input