LoP in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi addresses a public meeting ahead of Jharkhand Assembly elections, in Simdega district of Jharkhand, Friday, November 8, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Simdega: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP of trying to snatch 'Jal, Jungle, Jameen' (water, forest, land) from tribal people.
He termed the Jharkhand polls as a fight of ideology between the I.N.D.I.A. bloc and the BJP-RSS combine.
The Congress leader alleged that the RSS-BJP's mission was to "destroy" the Constitution of the country, while the I.N.D.I.A. bloc "wanted to protect" it.
"PM (Narendra) Modi calls you 'vanvasi' as the BJP believes that land, forest and water belong to the saffron party, RSS and capitalists. The BJP believes in grabbing tribal land under its newly coined word development. It wants to snatch 'Jal, Jungle, Jameen' (water, forest, land) from tribals," Gandhi alleged while addressing a rally in Jharkhand's Simdega.
He also claimed that the Constitution was under "constant attack" and the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was making "all efforts to protect it".
The Congress, if voted to power, will ensure caste census and removal of the 50 per cent cap on the reservation, Gandhi claimed.
"The Constitution is under constant attack and it needs to be protected. We will remove the cap of 50 per cent reservation at any cost. If we are voted to power in Jharkhand, we will raise reservation of STs to 28 per cent from the present 26 per cent, SCs to 12 per cent from the current 10 per cent and OBCs to 27 per cent from the existing 14 per cent," he claimed.
He also asserted that a caste census is "a must to identify the participation of tribals, Dalits and OBCs" in various institutions and wealth of the country.
"When I raised the issue in Parliament, PM Modi was silent and later said that Rahul Gandhi wants to divide the country," the Congress leader claimed.
This was Gandhi’s second visit to Jharkhand after the assembly poll schedule was announced.
The polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20 and counting will take place on November 23.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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