Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party, pledged on Monday to remove the 50% reservation cap and conduct a national caste census should the INDIA bloc win the Lok Sabha elections and form the government at the national level. Gandhi also launched a vicious attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that when the time came to grant rights to OBCs, Dalits, and tribal people, the PM claimed there were no castes, but when it came to casting votes, he claimed to be an OBC.
Gandhi further claimed that because the chief minister of Jharkhand was a tribal, the BJP attempted to overthrow the JMM-Congress-RJD government.
“Want to congratulate all alliance MLAs, (Champai) Soren ji as that they stopped the BJP-RSS conspiracy and protected the government of the poor,” Gandhi said at a rally at the Shaheed Maidan held here during his Manipur-to-Maharashtra Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
Gandhi asserted that OBCs, Dalits, and tribal people were forced into bonds of servitude and that they were underrepresented in large corporations, hospitals, schools, colleges, and legal systems.
“This is the biggest question before India. Our first step would be to get a caste census in the country,” the former Congress chief said.
RAHUL GANDHI’S COMMITMENT ON RESERVATION CAP
Gandhi pledged that an Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) government would “throw out” the 50% cap on reservation, pointing out that more than 50% cannot be granted under the current provisions.
“There will be no reduction in the reservation of Dalits and Adivasis. I am giving you a guarantee that the backward sections of society will get their rights. This is the biggest issue – social and economic injustice,” Gandhi said.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously claimed to be an OBC, but that he now believes there are only two castes: the rich and the poor. This was in response to a demand for a caste census.
“When the time came to give rights to OBCs, Dalits, tribals, Modi ji says there are no castes, and when it is time to get votes, he says he is an OBC,” Gandhi claimed.
RAHUL GANDHI ANSWERS TO PM MODI’S REMARKS ON OBCs
Subsequently, Prime Minister Modi addressed himself during a Lok Sabha debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, stating that although Congress leaders continue to tally the number of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the government, they overlook the largest OBC.
Reacting to Modi’s remarks, Gandhi in a post in Hindi on X, said, “Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was often saying that there are only two castes in the country – rich and poor, but today in Parliament he described himself as the ‘biggest OBC’. It is important to change this mentality of considering someone small and someone big.”
“Be it OBCs, Dalits or tribals, economic and social justice cannot be provided to them without census. If Modi ji talks so much about so many things, then why is he afraid of census?” he said.
“The Congress and the JMM stood against them together and the government was saved. They do this in all opposition-ruled states through probe agencies and money power.
“They are attacking democracy and the Constitution and want to suppress the voice of the people. The INDIA coalition will not let the voice of democracy be suppressed,” the Congress leader, who also met Kalpana Soren, the wife of former chief minister Hemant Soren, said.
“Narendra Modi and his government are slowly killing the PSUs… The central government wants the Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited (HEC Limited) to not function, and in the coming days, they will replace the name HEC with an Adani nameplate.
“They want to privatise it… Wherever I go, I see people of PSUs standing with posters in their hands. Be it BHEL, HAL, or HEC, all are being slowly handed over to Adani,” Gandhi alleged.
Gandhi claimed that the PSUs were all being throttled by the Center to favour Adani. He claimed that the goal of this privatization is to “steal” from Dalits, OBCs, tribal people, minorities, and the lower caste in general. Gandhi addressed the audience at the rally, bringing up the caste census issue, and asked if anyone knew how many Dalits, tribals, and Other Backward Classes there were.
Gandhi added that Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had informed him that his administration had kept its promise to the state’s residents regarding a caste survey. Gandhi stated that the general caste poor, OBCs, tribals, Dalits, and minorities will discover their numbers in a few months. He claimed that just three of the ninety-nine secretaries presiding over the government are OBC.
