In response to backlash for his alleged anti-reservation comments, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi clarified that his party aims to expand reservation beyond the current 50% cap.
During an interview at the National Press Club in the US, the Congress leader said, “Yesterday someone misrepresented my statement that I am against reservation. But let me make it clear – I am not against reservation. We will take reservation beyond the limit of 50 per cent.”
While addressing at Georgetown University in Washington DC on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi mentioned that the Congress will “think of ending reservation when India is a fair place”.
He highlighted that a significant portion of India's population, including OBCs, Dalits, and Adivasis, face obstacles in societal participation, stressing the need for a caste census.
“Caste census is a simple exercise to know how the lower castes, backward castes and Dalits are integrated into the system… Out of the top 200 businesses in India, there is almost no ownership of 90% of the population of India. In the highest courts of the country, there is almost no participation of 90 per cent of India. In the media, there is zero participation of lower castes, OBCs, Dalits,” he claimed.
Rahul Gandhi said conducting a caste census would provide a clearer insight into the social and economic status of marginalised people in the country. We want to understand what their social and financial position looks like…We also want to look at the Indian institutions to have a sense of India’s participation in these institutions,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BJP used Rahul Gandhi's remarks to critise him, accusing him of advocating for the termination of reservation policies. Home Minister Amit Shah said, “By speaking about abolishing reservations in the country, Rahul Gandhi has once again brought the Congress’s anti-reservation face to the forefront. The thoughts that were in his mind eventually found their way out as words.”
Shah added, “Rahul Gandhi’s statement lays bare the Congress’s politics of causing rifts on the lines of regionalism, religion, and linguistic differences.”
