Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the Congress government would remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations set by the Supreme Court if the party was elected to power in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Rahul was addressing a rally at Jobat town in Alirajpur district under the Ratlam-Jhabua Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh.
“The ultimate goal of BJP and Narendra Modi is to snatch the reservation of the deprived and make it 0%. But we will breach the 50% reservation limit and bring social justice to the country – this is Congress’ guarantee,” he said, adding that reservation, the Constitution and protection of the poor are the primary issues in this election.
“Ask Narendra Modi why their people urinate on tribals Dalits. Why do they want to abolish the Constitution? Reveal to the tribals whether you intend to scrap reservations in totality. And tell the people if you will increase the reservation limit from 50 per cent. I am here to tell you that while they talk of snatching, we will increase reservations beyond the limit of 50 per cent,” Rahul said at the rally.
Adressing the rally, Rahul further backed the idea of a nationwide caste census and claimed that the elections were about saving the Constitution that the BJP and RSS want to change. Scoffing at the BJP’s slogan of “abki baar, 400 paar”, Rahul said that the ruling party will not even win 150 seats in the country.
“BJP leaders have clearly said that they will change the book (Constitution). They have given the slogan of ‘abki baar, 400 paar’. Leave aside 400, they won’t even get 150 seats. These Lok Sabha elections are for saving the Constitution which the BJP and RSS want to scrap, change and throw away,” he said.
The former Congress president further promised to increase wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from Rs 250 to Rs 400 if the Congress formed a government at the Centre.