Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to the statue of Lord Buddha at Deekshabhoomi, ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, in Nagpur.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Describing himself as the “amplifier of voice of the common people”, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reiterated the Congress party’s commitment for a caste census and said that the demand is giving “sleepless nights” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“From corporate to judiciary, we do not see people from Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities. This is the situation everywhere, where we cannot see 90 per centof India. My job is to raise the voice of the people of India… I am just the amplifier… what I am doing is just amplifying the feeble voice,” Gandhi said addressing Samvidhan Samman Sammelan in Nagpur.
Before that, he visited Deekshabhoomi, where he paid tributes to Lord Buddha and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution of India.
During his address, Gandhi repeatedly displayed the pocket-sized red-colour Constitution- a gesture, for which he had come under severe criticism of the BJP.
"While listening to the public, a small voice came to me – caste census. But then gradually this voice grew bigger. We have named it the caste census, but its real meaning is justice,” he said, adding, “through the caste census every section of India will know what their role is in the country, how much power and how much money they have.”
“We have been raising the issue of caste census… this is giving sleepless nights to Modi,” he added, and asserted, “Let me assure you… the caste census will happen, and the 50 per cent limit (on reservation) will go.”
“The Constitution drafted by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is not just a book but a way of life. When people from the RSS and BJP attack the Constitution, they are attacking the voice of the country… there are silent attacks on the Constitution,” he said in Nagpur, which is the headquarters of the RSS.
“The RSS and the BJP cannot attack the Constitution from the front. So they hide behind ‘vikas’ , ‘pragati’, ‘unity’ to carry on their agenda of inequality that ensures benefits only to a few individuals at the cost of the vast majority of people,” Gandhi said.
“From where does the RSS get money to maintain its huge facility here and to run Shishu Mandirs and Eklavya Vidyalayas…it comes from BJP-run governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and from favoured industrialists Adani and Ambani,” he said.
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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