Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government and questioned where the data from the caste census carried out by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2011 was. He was addressing the Congress’s Jai Bharat rally in Kolar, Karnataka, on Sunday, April 16. This is the first time that the former MP has come to the state after he was disqualified as a Member of Parliament last month. Rahul Gandhi was disqualified after his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his remark on the surname Modi, made in Kolar in 2019.
“BJP says that I insulted the Other Backward Classes (OBC) of this country. The biggest question when it comes to OBCs is what percentage of the country’s population is constituted by each community. In 2011, the Congress-led UPA government conducted the caste census,” he said, asking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the caste census data public. “If you don't do this, then it is disrespectful to the OBC communities,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi further said that Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBCs only make up 7% of the Union government. He asked if the Modi government would make reservations quotas proportional to the respective population percentages of each community and remove the 50% reservation cap if it is really concerned about OBCs and SC/STs. A 50% cap on reservation quota was established by the 1992 Supreme Court judgement in the Indira Sawhney case, commonly known as the Mandal verdict. However, some states like Tamil Nadu do not observe the 50% cap.
Rahul Gandhi said that he was silenced in the Parliament and his mic turned off when he attempted to speak about the scams run by the BJP government. “I asked Modi what his relationship with Adani was. I said that Adani has a shell company and questioned the ownership of Rs 20,000 crore in that company’s account. For the first time in history, the government stopped the Parliament proceedings. Typically, it is the Opposition that disrupts the Parliament proceedings," he stated.
"I want to talk directly. They (BJP) want to scare me with disqualification, threatening. I will not be afraid. I will question the shell company and who the Rs 20,000 crore funds in it belongs to. Until I get the answer, I won't stop. Let them disqualify or put me in jail, it won't make any difference," Rahul Gandhi asserted.
The Congress leader also expressed confidence that the party will win the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka. "The party is all set to get a full majority. One thing you remember, the BJP, with full force, will attempt to break the government with the 40% money taken from the people. They will try to break your own government from the money stolen from you. The Congress should come to power with 150 seats. No chance should be given to the BJP," he said.
He said that while the Prime Minister helps top businessmen, "[Congress] government will help the poor, farmers, labourers, and small industrialists. The BJP will open bank doors to industrialists. Our government will open the bank doors to small shop owners, small businessmen, the poor, and labourers," he stated.
"In a few days, the Congress government will take charge in Karnataka. The question is what it will do after coming to power, what will it deliver to youth, women, and the poor,” he said, adding that the promises made in Karnataka – of providing 200 units of free electricity under Bhagya Jyothi scheme, Rs 2,000 allowance for woman heads of family under Gruhalakshmi scheme, 10 kg free rice for every member Below Poverty Line family under Anna Bhagya scheme, and Rs 3,000 allowance for graduates and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders – will be fulfilled in the first cabinet meeting.
With inputs from IANS