Removing 50% cap on quota necessary to protect Constitution, says Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said removing the existing 50 per cent cap on reservation is necessary to protect the Constitution, and asserted that the INDIA bloc will ensure passage of laws to this effect in Parliament.

Speaking at the 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' here, he also said the Congress and the INDIA bloc will also ensure passage of laws to enable a caste-based census.

"We will ensure that the barrier of 50 per cent cap on reservation will be removed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and no power can stop it. Removing this 50 per cent limit is necessary to protect the Constitution," he said.

Gandhi said when his party talks of caste census, it wants to add two more aspects to it - one is to identify the population of each community and secondly, how much control do they have over India's financial system. The caste-based census will help gather data on the population of different communities.

He said the doors of opportunities are being closed on 90 per cent of the country's population.

Ninety top IAS officers decide India's budget, he claimed, and said the OBC community comprises a minimum of 50 per cent of the total population, but only three of the 90 officers are OBCs.

Dalits and Adivasis (tribals) comprise 15 per cent and eight per cent, respectively, but have only three and one officers from those communities respectively, according to the Congress leader.

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) oppose caste-based census as they don't want the truth to come out.

The history of Dalits or backward classes was not being taught in schools, he said, alleging that efforts are now being made to erase that history.

The Congress leader said the public sector is being privatised, and noted that it should be termed as de-reservation.

He accused the RSS and BJP of doing this for years.

Gandhi claimed that the Agnipath scheme in the armed forces is a ploy to snatch pension from 90 per cent of people.

"The reality of the Agnipath scheme is that the pension of Indian youth, compensation, canteen facilities and respect has been snatched from him," the former Congress president said.