NEW DELHI — The Congress launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of deliberately denying fair reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs). It also questioned his OBC credentials stating that he was born in a upper caste family but later included him in the OBC category.
Speaking at the ‘Congress OBC leadership – Bhagidari Nyay Mahasammelan’ at Talkatora Stadium here on Friday, senior party leaders including the president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reaffirmed and reiterated that the Congress will not only ensure that the caste census is done, but also that the 50 percent ceiling on the reservation is removed.
Kharge questioned the OBC credentials of Prime Minister Modi saying he (Modi) was born as an upper caste and only after he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he got his caste included among the Other Backward Classes. He said, while Modi provided reservation to the economically weaker general castes, he is not prepared to provide reservations to those who belong to backward classes.
The Congress president credited Rahul Gandhi for bringing the issue of social justice to the forefront during the last Lok Sabha elections. He said, people accepted and acknowledged the issue, but the opposition alliance fell short by just 20-25 seats, otherwise it would have formed the government.
Warning the people belonging to the SC and OBC communities against trusting the RSS and the BJP, he remarked, they are like poison and can only be tried at the cost of one’s life. He also took a dig at the Prime Minister’s silence over US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Kharge cautioned against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and said that the government of India wanted to do it across the country to disenfranchise lakhs of people from the voting rights that had been granted to them thanks to the leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr BR Ambedkar.
Addressing the convention, Rahul Gandhi made a fervent appeal to the youth belonging to the OBCs to recognize their strength and power. He told them that the RSS was their biggest enemy as it has tried to wipe out their history. He reiterated that the first and foremost mission of the Congress party is to carry out caste census in all the states having the Congress government and second to remove the fifty percent barrier on reservations. This, he added, will be followed by a nationwide caste census.
Referring to the caste census carried out by the Congress government in Telangana, Gandhi said, it will cause political earthquake and the tremors will be felt, far and wide. Giving details, he said, sensational disclosures were made in the survey about the OBCs in particular who had practically no representation and participation in the power structure.
Gandhi said, the OBCs were the “productive power” of the country who were at the centre of all sorts of production. He said, they produce food, build roads and buildings, construct hospitals and schools and yet their share in power is negligible.
The Leader of Opposition said that he felt that he should have taken up the issues of the OBCs long back. However, he promised that now he will ensure it with double speed and double force in a much better way.
Accusing the RSS and the BJP of wiping out the OBCs’ history, Rahul Gandhi said, they were apprehensive that the moment the OBCs learnt about their own history, they will realise that the RSS is their biggest enemy. He observed, this attack has been going on against the OBCs for thousands of years in different forms.
A galaxy of Congress leaders attended the ‘OBC Mahasammelan’, including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Ghelot, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Sachin Pilot, Anil JaiHind and others.
