'Will think when...': Rahul Gandhi on when India should scrap reservation

Rahul Gandhi says members of the INDIA coalition had differences but agreed on a lot of things.

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition, said the Congress will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place.

“We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place. And India is not a fair place,” Gandhi told  students in Georgetown University in the USA. “When you look at the financial numbers, then tribals get 10 paise out of 100 rupees; Dalits get 5 rupees out of 100 rupees, and OBCs get a similar number. The fact of the matter is that they're not getting participation."

According to him, 90 per cent of India is not able to play. "Go through the list of every single business leader in India. I've done it. Show me the tribal name. Show me the Dalit name. Show me the OBC name. Out of the top 200, I think there's one OBC. They're 50 per cent of India. But we're not treating the symptom,” he said. “That's the problem. Now, it (reservation) is not the only tool. There are other tools,” he said.

Gandhi said many from the upper castes question what they have done wrong. "So, then you think about increasing dramatically the supply of some of these things. You think about decentralising power. You think about involving many more people in the governance of our country. You think of opening up. With all due respect, I don't think any of you are ever going to become Adani or Ambani. There's a reason for that. You can't. Because those doors are closed. So the answer to people in the general cast is you open those doors,” Gandhi said.

When asked about the Uniform Civil Code, Gandhi said he would comment on it only after he knows what is BJP's proposal.

“BJP is proposing a uniform civil code. We haven't seen it. We have no idea what they're talking about. For us to comment on it doesn't make sense. When they pull it out, then we'll have a look and we'll comment on it,” he said.

Gandhi also said members of the INDIA coalition had differences but agreed on a lot of things.
“We agree that the Constitution of India should be defended. Most of us agree on the idea of the caste census. We agree that two businesspeople, namely Adani and Ambani, shouldn't run every single business in India. So, for you to say that we don't agree, I think, is inaccurate,” he said.

“Second thing is that all coalitions... A certain amount of to and fro will always take place. That is perfectly natural. There's nothing wrong with it. We have run governments again and again which have been successful using coalitions. So we are pretty confident that we can do it again,” he said.

(With inputs from PTI)