Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Describing the 50 per cent cap on reservations as an “artificial barrier”, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asserted that no force in the world can stop the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. bloc from conducting caste census and removing the current bar on quota.
“What I say, I mean…no force in the world can stop us from giving people their due,” Gandhi asserted at a Samvidhan Samman Sammelan at the historic city of Kolhapur.
“The RSS cannot stop us…the BJP cannot stop us…(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi cannot stop us from getting the 50 per cent cap on reservation removed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,” he said.
Gandhi said he and Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and the Congress Working Committee are committed to it.
“We are committed to caste census…what is the harm in knowing the truth…what is the harm in getting an X-Ray done,” said Gandhi, adding: “We will take reservation beyond the limit of 50 per cent.”
"We want the correct data. How many Dalits, OBC (Other Backward Classes), tribals, women, minorities, and general caste people are there. We are trying to protect the Constitution through this demand for a caste census," he added.