Congress has 'anti-reservation' stance from former PM Nehru to Rahul Gandhi: BJP

Bengaluru, Sep 23 (IANS) BJP National Spokesperson Guruprakash Paswan on Monday charged that the Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi's "anti-reservation" statement is a continuation of his family's ideology.

Speaking at a press conference held at the BJP state office in Bengaluru, he said that a letter was written by late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961 to the Chief Ministers of various states, expressing his dislike for any form of reservation.

BJP Spokesperson Paswan holding out former PM Nehru's letter, said that reservation would lead to inefficiency and the selection of second-grade officials.

He questioned how the backlog jobs could be filled through reservations when the mindset of Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers was against the reservation.

Late PM Indira Gandhi, in her speech from the Red Fort, had called for the eradication of casteism from the country.

Her son and former PM Rajiv Gandhi opposed the Mandal Commission's reservation recommendations in Parliament, even accusing him of driving the country towards caste-based conflicts.

BJP Spokesperson Paswan criticised Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for making anti-reservation statements while abroad.

The BJP operates under the principle of "Antyodaya" (upliftment of the last person), focusing on the welfare and development of the most marginalised in society.

He claimed that in the past 10 years, the BJP has received the support of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

He added that BJP is organising press conferences across the country to expose the Congress's double standards and anti-reservation stance.

BJP Spokesperson Paswan questioned how many Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers from the SC, ST, and OBC communities have been appointed in the states governed by Congress and the INDIA bloc .

He urged Rahul Gandhi to clarify his stance on reservation.

He criticised Rahul Gandhi for making "anti-reservation" statements abroad, claiming that this opposition to reservation has deep family roots.

The BJP Spokesperson added that the anti-reservation mentality is not new.

He argued that when it comes to appointments of Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, and opposition leaders, the Congress ignores SC, ST, and OBC communities.

He added that the BJP had even given a representative from the small Siddi community a seat in the Legislative Council.

"For the first time in Karnataka, a member of the SC community has been appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. After Ambedkar, Dalit leader Arjun Ram Meghwal has been appointed as the Union Law Minister, thanks to the BJP," BJP Spokesperson Paswan said.

He highlighted that an SC community member has also been appointed as the Chief Information Officer for the first time.

The BJP has also provided opportunities for the SC community in the Railway board. Despite the President having the authority since 1952 to nominate members of the SC community to the Rajya Sabha, this opportunity was not utilised until 2020, when the BJP nominated Tamil Nadu's Ilaiyaraaja from the same community, he claimed.

The BJP leader accused the Congress of treating Dalits and the SC/ST communities merely as a vote bank.

While election campaigns are currently underway in Haryana, senior SC leader and former Union Minister Kumari Selja has gone missing from the scene. The Congress has not given her and other Dalit leaders a place during the release of the party's election manifesto, he charged.

Present at the press conference were BJP SC Morcha State President and MLA Cement Manjunath, SC Morcha State General Secretaries Umesh Karajol and Mahendra Koutal, along with senior leaders Rudrayya and Anil Kumar.

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